God's First Nightmare
by BlackBeauty613
Summary: Whoever thought that the only one he would fall in love with would be related to the one he hated? What happens when a certain blue-eyed teen fall's for his worst enemy's sister? Troyella AU, rated for language and graphic violence.
1. Trailer

**Here's the new and improved trailer for God's First Nightmare :)**

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**Troy Bolton**

**A.K.A. King of East High**

**Top of the food chain**

_Shows Troy high fiving somebody in the hallway with girls hot on his heels._

_"Troy! Sit with me at lunch!"_

_"Troy! Be my date to prom!"_

_"Troy! Marry me!" _

_"It feels good to be popular." Troy smiled to himself._

**The guy everyone wants to be except…**

**Brandon Montez**

**F.Y.I. Prince of East High**

**2nd on the food chain**

_Shows Brandon walking with his friends through the hallway, chomping on his gum and rolling his eyes at some nerds._

_"I really need to take care of this problem." Brandon whispered to himself._

_"Dude, isn't that the king's job? Namewise Troy?" A buddy of Brandon's asked._

_"He won't be king for long." Brandon answered, grinning evilly._

**The guy most people want to befriend except…**

**Welcome back,**

**Troy Bolton**

**Troy and Brandon have been enemies ever since Troy became everything Brandon wasn't, which produced raging jealousy inside Brandon which was reduced by…**

_Shows Troy and Brandon screaming at each other_

_Show's Brandon's envious eyes staring at Troy_

_Shows Brandon sighing and hugging someone_

**Gabriella Montez**

**New shy girl of East High**

_Shows Gabriella walking through the halls with her head low_

**Troy's new crush and…**

_Shows Troy staring at Gabriella with soft, loving eyes_

**Brandon's sister!**

_"Please welcome... Gabriella Montez!" Ms. Darbus announced. Troy spit out the water he was drinking and choked out "Gabriella who?!"_

**Yikes!**

**Things become interesting at East High like…**

**More Troy/Brandon brawls**

_Shows Troy and Brandon throwing punches and kicks at each other_

**Romance, **

_Shows Troy holding a sobbing Gabriella_

**Drama,**

_"He did WHAT to you?!" Troy shouted to Gabriella._

_"He... he..." Gabriella tried to answer, but no words were able to form. She just broke down into sobs again._

**Comedy,**

_Shows multiple clips of people laughing their heads off_

**Wild hogs?**

_"Please Troy!" Gabriella retorted "The day I forgive you is when you ride three wild pigs through these halls, yodeling at the top of your lungs, and dressed as a hobo! Now leave me alone!" With that, she walked away from the two boys._

_Troy smirked to himself. Chad turned to him and groaned "Don't even."_

_"Too late." Troy crooned, spacing out._

"This ought to end well..."_ Chad thought to himself._

**We'll… get to that later**

_"That's not a problem." Troy said._

**Troy's used to getting anything and everything he wants, including sweet victory. **

**But this time, he'll have to fight for it.**

_"I'm ready for him." Troy said, clenching his fists._

**This means war at East High and Troy's sure that he'll win it**

_"You guys are screwed if Montez finds out it's you, especially Brandon." Jason warned, gulping down his water._

_"I don't care," Troy shrugged "If he threatens to beat me up, I just laugh. When's he ever gonna figure out that he'll never win with me?"_

**But if Troy's the God of East High...**

_Shows Troy playing with a crown in his hands, looking distant and regretful_

**Brandon's the devil...**

_Shows Brandon glaring at something, hatred lining his eyes_

**And Gabriella's the prize,**

_"You're lucky." Taylor sighed_

_"Why?" Gabriella asked._

_"You have two boys fighting over you!" Taylor answered._

**Than this could just be...**

_**God's First Nightmare**_

_Starring,_

_Zac Efron as Troy Bolton_

_Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez_

_Corbin Bleu as Chad Danforth_

_Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans_

_Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans_

_Monique Coleman as Taylor McKessie_

_And Joe Jonas as Brandon Montez_

_**God's First Nighmare**_

**This could get messy**

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**So there you go! Some future moments for our fave characters! REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	2. Intro

Welcome to East High School!

The school of romance, drama, humor, and flat out insanity. News spreads quickly throughout this school and everyone knows other people's business unless they do a good enough job of hiding it.

As said before, this school is insane. If there's a fight in the hallways, the teachers usually don't even try to stop it until the cops are called. How was this proven? Two words:

Troy and Brandon.

Ever since Troy became basketball captain and East High's number 1 heartthrob in 7th grade, Brandon has been secretly jealous.

The fact that they used to be best friends and the "Brothers of East Middle" didn't make the situation any better. They met when they were just 2 years old and their mothers kept them in touch ever since. They went to the same elementary school and were nearly insepearable. If you saw one, you knew the other was only within a few yards of him. They had a bond that they thought could never be broken, but Troy broke a very important promise to Brandon. They've been enemies ever since.

And not just Troy being captain made Brandon jealous, but everything Brandon wasn't. Everything he wanted to be, Troy either stole from him or got to first. And Troy's friends stood by him 110 percent. The students were either on Brandon or Troy's side, never both. If they were, they had some serious hell coming for them.

Still don't believe me? Take this as your proof! Enjoy and try not to get hit by the soon to be flying fists.

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Troy Bolton and his friends marched through the halls of East High chatting away. No one stood in their way. Troy was declared the king of East High ever since he became captain of the basketball team. He was friends with pretty much everyone. Everyone except…

Brandon Montez walked down the hall with his boys by his side. He was announced the prince of East High since he was always just one step lower than Troy, no matter how hard he worked. He and Troy had been enemies ever since 7th grade when Troy discovered his talent for sports. Brandon tried to match up to him, but always came in second. They fought daily either by cussing each other out or physically. It was a war at East High that nobody wanted to stop. Or get into. Here's an example.

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Troy and Brandon were walking from opposite ends of the hall swallowed up in their own conversations with their friends. All of a sudden, both boys collided and books flew everywhere. Mostly Brandon's.

He sent Troy a dirty look and icily seethed "Watch it Bolton!"

Troy turned around, rolled his eyes, and replied "Get some glasses. I was watching. You were just too lazy to move."

Brandon raised an eyebrow "Me lazy? Who's the one who ran around the gym 30 times?"

Troy answered "You."

"Thank you."

Troy grinned "To burn off the calories and fat you gained from the feast you had at lunch. Oh! Which brings us back to lazy!"

Troy's best friend Chad then said to Troy "Yeah, and he's doing all of this while being lower than you on the food chain!"

Troy smiled and bragged "Well you know. With me being king and everything, I have to hold onto my crown while I make sure others keep track of their little tiara."

Brandon was silent for a second before shooting back "Hey. Is that crown big enough to cover up your ugly face?"

Troy raised an eyebrow and teased "Me ugly? Oh, I guess the huge jewels blinded you or something. Too bad you didn't look away… OH!! Which brings us back to lazy!!"

Brandon clenched his teeth and muttered "You little mother fu-"

Troy cut him off "Language, language! Wouldn't want your mommy to give you a time out or put you in the corner. 'Cause you know, it's not over till the fat lady sings- oh crap! I didn't mean to bring your mom into this! Bad Troy! Bad!"

Brandon was about to attack when a teacher rounded the corner. Everyone ripped books out of their book bags and pretended to study, chat, or get things out of their lockers. Brandon and one of his friends were talking while Troy was "helping Chad with the math homework". The teacher looked around confused, but then just shrugged and finished her journey down the hallway. All students silenced and turned their heads towards the teacher making sure that she didn't come back.

Brandon threw the book on the floor and exclaimed to Troy "You're a little bitch you know that?!"

Troy said "Did you just call me a bitch? Oh, well, a bitch is a female dog, dogs bark, bark is on trees, trees are a part of nature, and nature is beautiful! So, uh, thanks for the compliment!"

Brandon burst out laughing. In between breaths, he laughed "Beautiful? Oh, so now you're gay?"

Troy rolled his eyes annoyed and corrected "Ok, 1: Everyone calls me beautiful, if not hot, gorgeous, sexy, and other stuff that you'll never be called cause you're so ugly and 2: If I WAS gay, at least I'd have the guts to admit it, unlike you. Remember the time you actually complimented Ms. Darbus's scarf? You know, the one that made her look like a rainbow took a shit then puked on it? I told her the truth and have we seen it since? Besides up your ass? Probably where your pushover sister stuffed it."

That's where Brandon drew the line. He roughly shoved Troy into the lockers and shouted "Don't you EVER talk about Gabriella!"

Troy shoved him back and replied "Okay, okay, chill man. It's not my fault that she would be so desperate for a date that she would take her own brother. I mean I can see it now!"

Then, in an announcer voice, he said "And prom king and queen are… Cowriella Montez and her date, Jack Assbutt!"

Brandon froze and his face drained of its color as the entire student body burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

But he lost it when Troy made one final comment. "I mean, you could make beautiful farm babies together." he said with a shrug.

Brandon lost control. He swung his fist and hit Troy square in the jaw. Troy stumbled to the ground with Brandon approaching fast. Brandon grabbed Troy's head and slammed it against a locker. He threw him to the ground again and kicked him in his side.

Just as he was about to supposedly break his arm, he felt hands grab him and pull him away from Troy. He spun around, only to look into Chad's furious eyes. The next thing he knew, the entire basketball team had him surrounded.

Troy got to his feet and rubbed his sore and bleeding face. He gave Brandon a tired, yet victorious look.

The team looked at Troy as if desperately asking for something while still having a firm hold on Brandon.

Troy sent Brandon rage-filled glare before smirking. He simply commanded "Sic him"

Chad and the entire team grinned evilly and crooned "With pleasure."

Brandon's eyes widened in fear as Chad raised his clenched fist. Suddenly, Brandon's entire world started spinning as he was attacked by the infuriated team.

After what seemed like days, Chad told the boys to stop. He looked at the defeated Brandon lying half conscious on the ground and threatened "Come back to school if you need another lesson. I'll… no. _We'll_ be glad to teach it to you. Later."

With that, Chad slapped him one last time before he and the rest of the guys walked to Troy who was leaning against the lockers, arms crossed and watching with pleasure.

They all started to walk to lunch as Chad concerned "You okay man?"

Troy nodded and answered "Yeah I'm good. Little bastard can fight though."

Chad laughed and said with a pat on the back "Well don't worry. We took care of him."

Troy smiled and grinned "Well at least I have something that he doesn't have."

Jason asked "Oh yeah? What's that?"

Troy put his arms around the shoulders of Chad and Jason and replied jokingly "A team of pissed off bitches who'll stand by me 110 percent. And I'll do the same for them."

The entire team cracked up. Chad stated "Yup! With all of us, this fight is already over."

Troy's smile faltered as he looked back at Brandon who was getting helped up by his friends. Once he caught Troy's gaze, he sent him a death glare.

"Oh trust me Chad." He sighed "This is _far_ from over."

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**Do you believe me now? lol! Seriously, what do you think of it? Like it? Hate it? Tell me in your REVIEW!! Thnx!**

**Rachel :)**


	3. Too Early for Assumptions

2 weeks after that fight and 2 minutes after their previous battle, which Troy had won, he and Brandon had found themselves in homeroom. Brandon was glaring at him strongly while Troy was just grinning smugly, the memory still fresh in his mind.

Brandon had insulted Troy's ability to play basketball. Troy had first ignored it but had lost control when Brandon said something incredibly rude. They were in the halls and Troy almost lost consciousness, but with all of the cheering and support from his friends he found that impossible. He pushed Brandon off of him and released all of his fury into his fists, which repeatedly knocked the wind out of Brandon. After getting off of the floor, he kicked Brandon in the head which woke him. He started for Troy, but his friends held him back. Troy just flicked him off from behind. And that was the end.

Brandon couldn't take his eyes off of Troy. He just hated him so much. He felt like throwing something. He had his opportunity when Ms. Darbus left the room to fetch someone. He rolled up a stray piece of paper and stuck it in his moist mouth. He spit it out and aimed at the back of Troy's head. He settled on his target and chucked the spit ball at it. Troy suddenly ducked and instead, the ball landed smack dab in his girlfriend's mouth.

Troy turned around slyly and said "Oops."

Brandon stared at him blankly and stuttered "How... did... you... kn-"

Troy answered "Amy was ranting about something that included her mirror which was pointed right at you."

Brandon's eyes switched from surprise to hatred. He stood up and got ready to charge, but was halted by Amy spitting out the ball and screaming "BRANDON, WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Brandon replied carefully "Amy, baby listen. I was aiming for-"

Amy cut in "Troy? Yeah I know! Why? What did he ever do to you?! Nothing, that's what! This fight between you two is too much! We're over! Over!!" With that, she stormed out of the classroom.

Brandon's heart dropped, but none of it showed in his eyes. He looked directly at Troy who just sat there, killing himself in trying to not laugh. His face was reddish purple and it looked like he was choking on something. He tried to hide it coughing, but the laughter caught up to him. He doubled over onto the floor while tears of laughter flooded his face and met with the floor. It contagiously caught onto everyone else, except Brandon. He felt the room boil with rage from him. The laughing students turned into red targets in his eyes. But there was one black one.

Troy.

He charged for him and grabbed his neck. Troy looked up at him, but surprisingly didn't look scared. He looked as if he knew that Brandon was about to let go in a few seconds. Brandon searched his eyes for a clue of his behavior, but found nothing. But he didn't have to. The footsteps heading for the room in the hallway was the clue. It was Ms. Darbus and someone else on their way back to the room.

Brandon reluctantly let go of his strangle hold on Troy and whispered in his ear "Don't even get close to thinking that this is over."

Troy replied "Oh no my friend. It already is."

Brandon shot him one last glare before quickly walking back to his seat. Just as he sat down, Ms. Darbus re-entered the room with someone partially behind her, probably hiding. No one noticed until she loudly clapped her hands twice to capture their attention. She cleared her throat and said "Ah, thank you. Ladies and gentleman, we have a new student in room 505 (just made it up). Please welcome... Gabriella Montez."

Troy spit out the water that he was drinking. Chad, who sat behind him, hit him on the back, which seemed to help. Troy choked out "Gabriella who?"

He heard Chad groan "Oh God! Not another one!"

Suddenly, a small petite brunette emerged from behind Ms. Darbus. Troy just stared at her. She was, she was-

"TROY!!!"

Troy jumped and turned around to Chad. He was looking at Troy suspiciously. "What?"

"I said she looks just as bad as her brother. Are you Ok?"

Troy nodded falsely. But he wasn't Ok. He was far from Ok. He couldn't figure it out. If Brandon, his worst enemy, was such a hard ass, then how can his sister appear so... sweet and shy?

"_Listen to yourself Troy! APPEAR! Chad's probably right. She might just be as bad as her brother. Watch yourself." _He thought to himself.

After Ms. Darbus ranted about how Gabriella moved from her divorced father's house, she pointed to the empty seat in the back. As she nervously walked past Troy, her turquoise skirt brushed against Troy's arm. He felt a spark rush through his body as he cheeks burned. What was happening to him? He had never felt so vulnerable in his entire life, especially when something Brandon related was included. He looked at the ground to try and hide his pink face. Little did he know that someone very unpleasant was watching him. Watching him gain a crush on his now _very_ protected sister. No matter what, Brandon was going to make sure that Gabriella stayed very far away from Troy Bolton.

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When homeroom let out, Brandon made a break for Gabriella, figuring that Troy would try to talk to her. He smiled at his sister and said "So, how's it going so far?"

Gabriella nodded nervously. She replied "Alright I guess. Except the guy in the front row kept looking at me. Who is he?"

Brandon rolled his eyes. "Troy. Stay far away from him, Ok? He's nothing but trouble now. Trust me, I know."

Gabriella's eyes widened as she exclaimed "That's Troy?! Wow! He's changed a lot!"

Brandon nodded. He had told her about Troy as soon as they started fighting and she had helped him so much. He didn't think that he could've survived without her help. He smiled at the memory.

**FLASHBACK**

_Brandon slammed the door to his house after school. He furiously brushed away the tear making its way down his face. _

_He couldn't believe it. He tried out for the basketball team and didn't make it. Instead it went to Troy Bolton, his now ex-best friend. Troy had promised to convince the coach that if he made the team, he wouldn't join unless Brandon was on it too. He had obviously forgotten his promise to his best friend. Brandon had screamed at him and started their first physical fight, which Troy had won. _

_He headed for the kitchen, but instead he heard his parents shouting at each other. _

_Again. _

_This has been going on for 2 years. If they were going to separate, he wished that they would already. For his sake and Gabriella's. He called out helplessly "I'm home! Does anyone care?" _

_Obviously not. They just kept screaming at each other. Brandon had to strain to keep himself from crying any further. He charged up to his room and slammed the door, but was surprised to find Gabriella sitting there, crying her eyes out. Brandon threw his book bag on the floor and rushed to his sister. He held her close and whispered "Hey hey! What's wrong?"_

_Gabriella sniffed and choked out "I can't stand mom and dad fighting like this! It's just not right!"_

_Brandon clutched her tighter and replied "I know. But we have to be strong and be there for each other. Especially in a situation like this."_

_Gabriella looked into his eyes and smiled. She kissed his cheek and said "Yeah. I heard about your fight with Troy. What happened?"_

_Brandon's eyes darkened. "He betrayed me and lied to me. Hope that basketball gives him a concussion! Then he'll just forget about me even more!"_

_Gabriella stoked his back and looked at the tears in her brother's eyes. She's only seen him this upset when it came to their parents, never with Troy._

"_So what now?"_

_Brandon sighed at her question. He figured that the best solution was to just forget about it. And Troy._

"_I guess I'll just steer clear of him and hope for the best. But luckily I have you to help."_

_Gabriella giggled. They chatted for a few minutes before they heard the door slam. She jumped out of his lap and ran to the window. Their father had just stormed out of the house and headed for his car. He screamed something back, thinking that the teens couldn't hear. But he was very wrong._

"_Go back to Charles you dirty rotten slut! Apparently he's the one who's got all the fucking money around here!"_

_Mrs. Montez screamed back "You know damn right I will! And that's because he actually works for it and doesn't pull those fucking get rich quick schemes! Get out and never come back!"_

_Mr. Montez threw his beer bottle back at his wife. She tried to dodge it, but instead it hit her arm. The glass seeped into her skin and blood emerged onto the surface. She cried out in pain and fell to her knees._

_Gabriella did the same, but Brandon wasn't quick enough to catch her. He helped her up off of the floor and led her back to the bed. They sat down and he let Gabriella sob into his chest. He tried to be strong for both of them by holding back his tears, but he wasn't strong enough. He let the cry session escape his eyes freely. _

_Gabriella sobbed "I need to get out of this house! Can you drive me to the mall? I'll tell my friends to meet me there."_

_Brandon nodded and added "I'm going to the movies with Drew."_

_Gabriella's head cocked to the side. "I thought Chad was your other movie friend."_

_Brandon shook his head and answered "He's on Troy's side now."_

_Gabriella nodded sadly. She wiped her eyes and brought out her cell phone. She dialed a number and put the phone to her ear. When someone answered, Gabriella smiled and said _

"_Hey Sharpay. Can you and Taylor meet me at the mall in 10 minutes?"_

_Sharpay responded "Sure! Is there a reason?"_

_Gabriella nodded and replied "Yeah, I just... need to be with my friends for a while, that's all."_

_Sharpay said "Ok! See ya there!"_

_After saying goodbye, Gabriella hung up and sighed. She looked at her brother entering the room after getting his movie date together. They smiled at each other while Brandon asked "You good?"_

"_Yeah. You?"_

_Brandon nodded. He gave his sister one final hug before heading for the door. He whispered in her ear "Don't worry. We'll get through this together. Just you and me. I promise."_

**END FLASHBACK**

Brandon shook his head free of the memories and led his sister to their next class, which they had together. He intended to keep his promise, even though they were apart for the last 8 months. Gabriella didn't change much except for the fact that she was bigger and more mature. She hadn't picked up her father's bad habits, which was good for her. He could never understand how his father just left important things around on the floor for someone to step on or leave food out in the open to get good and rotten and have the flies attack it. He used to be neat and organized. What happened? Right now, Brandon didn't really care. He never cared. He was just waiting for him to either clean up his act or to leave. He chose to leave and Brandon didn't have a problem with that. As long as their mother was happy, he was happy.

As they walked down the hall, Troy walked up to Gabriella and opened his mouth to speak. He was stopped by Brandon crushing his foot heavily. He was about to scream, but stopped himself from drawing the attention. He limped to his next class, glaring at Brandon along the way. Brandon just matched the smile that Troy wore earlier. This was going to be a very interesting school year.

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**Truthfully, I'm not too fond of the ending. But there's Brandon's soft side. If you don't hate him as much, that's a good thing. That's what this chapter's for. lol! So there's a teary chapter. Kinda clears up where Gabriella's from and what happened to make them so close. Now Troy's the bad guy. Kinda like a roller coaster isn't it? lol! Not really. Anyways, REVIEW!!! Thnx!**

**Rachel :)**


	4. A Friendly Encounter

"GABBY!!!" a voice screamed through the bustling crowd in front of the school.

Gabriella and Brandon jumped with great surprise towards the noise. Brandon smiled and rolled his eyes as a platinum blonde rushed over to the two. She grabbed Gabriella's shoulders and looked into her eyes, which were twisted with confusion. She sighed and brought Gabriella into a huge hug. Gabriella wriggled free of this stranger's grip and snapped "What are you doing?! Who are you?!"

The girl stood with a confused expression and answered "Gabriella, don't you remember me?"

Gabriella looked hard at the mysterious student in front of her. Blonde hair, brown eyes, perfect skin, expensive clothing, and a giggly smile. She looked just like her old best friend... who was a brunette. Someone that she hadn't seen in years. Someone with the name of a Chinese dog. Someone like...

"Sharpay?" Gabriella whispered.

The girl smiled hugely at finally being recognized. "Gabriella." She whispered back.

Gabriella's jaw dropped. "Sharpay." She said a little louder than before.

"Gabriella." Sharpay repeated, trying her best to hold in her anxiety.

Gabriella finally squealed at the top of her lungs "SHARPAY!!!"

Sharpay, matching her enthusiasm, screamed "GABRIELLA!!!"

The girls, holding onto each other's arms, started jumping up and down in delight, Brandon watching from behind with his hands covering his ears.

"Oh my God Gabby! You're finally back! I thought I'd never see you again!"

Gabriella gave her friend a scowl and demanded "And why in the world would you think that?!"

Sharpay shrugged and answered nervously "Well... I thought that you found a new..;" her voice trailed off at the end.

"Best friend?" Gabriella finished for her in disbelief. Sharpay nodded, looking off to the side.

Gabriella groaned and grabbed Sharpay's hands in hers. "Shar, you know that that would _never_ in a _million_ years happen! I love you like my sister and the thought of someone taking your place is just... impossible. It escapes me. What were you thinking!?"

Sharpay shrugged again and answered "Well I-"

"I don't really care. The important thing is that I'm back, you're still here, and... you're... blonde?"

Sharpay gave a goofy grin and twisted her hair with her finger, saying "Yeah. It's new."

Gabriella scoffed "Obviously! I mean... blonde?! What happened to your brunette?!"

Sharpay laughed and said "I dunno. I needed something more fun and exiting I guess. Plus it suits me."

Gabriella giggled "Yeah you are pretty bubbly."

Sharpay and Gabriella chatted and laughed more before Sharpay piped up "So, have you seen Troy? He's diffidently different, huh?"

Gabriella looked around her friend's shoulder and gazed upon the subject of their new conversation. Troy stood whispering to Chad, glancing in Gabriella's direction every now and then. Once he caught her gaze, his eyes widened in embarrassment and he ran inside the school building. Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"_What were they talking about? I know that I was included somehow. Just how?_"

She was dragged back to Earth by Sharpay calling "Gabby? Hello?"

Gabriella snapped back to her best friend and replied "Oh, yeah. Different. Right."

Sharpay slightly turned her head to the side and asked "You Ok? You seem... off."

Gabriella nodded and reassured her friend "Yeah I'm fine. It's just that... I didn't recognize Troy the first time that I saw him."

Sharpay exhaled and explained "Yeah, I almost didn't recognize him when we came back to school. I walked up to him and asked 'And you are...'"

After some more small talk, the bell for the end of lunch rang. Sharpay and Gabriella groaned when the blonde offered "Meet me after school at the mall. We have A LOT of catching up to do. See you there?"

Gabriella nodded happily and accepted "You can count on it. See ya Shar!"

"Later Gabby!" Sharpay replied with a hug. Afterwards, both girls ran their separate courses to their next class, refreshed from the friendly encounter.

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**Short, I know. But these first few chapters are just introductory chapters to each character. Next chapter should be longer. So that hopefully clears up a few questions about Sharpay. Youknowyouloveme10, thanks for pointing that out :) Tell me whatcha think. REVIEW!!! Thnx!**

**Rachel :)**


	5. Under the Mask

Gabriella walked into her house throwing her book bag onto the carpet, looking around and taking it all in. It's been months besides yesterday that she had been in that house. Her father had been caught smoking pot again and had been placed in jail, leaving Gabriella with her mom. She didn't really care though. She liked her mother's method of child care more than her father's. Sure, she loved them both equally, but it was their way of noticing her more than their care in general. Her mother treated them right while her father barely even noticed her most of the time. She loved the feeling of being recognized, especially by someone that she loved the most. Brandon.

She skipped into the kitchen and kissed her mom on the cheek, chirping "Afternoon mom!"

Mrs. Montez, or Gina, replied "Good day at school I take it?"

Gabriella nodded happily and said "Brandon helped me a lot, especially with where everything was and how things worked. Where is he by the way?"

Gina answered "He had to make up a test, but he should be home in a few minutes. Can you help me with the pie for desert tonight? I feel like celebrating!"

Gabriella laughed and agreed. Gina wasn't the only one.

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25 minutes later, Brandon limped into the house. He crashed onto the couch and groaned in pain. He had yet had another fight with Troy. But this one wasn't normal. This was a whole new problem.

**FLASHBACK (15 Minutes)**

_Brandon walked out of Darbus's room and rolled his eyes sighing. The whole time that he was taking the test, Darbus ranted on about theatre and Shakespeare, distracting him from his work. He was writing the essay, only to find midway that he was answering a totally different question. He tried erasing it, but only succeeded in ripping the paper. His A was now down the drain. Hopefully he would at least get a B._

_He strutted out of the classroom, only to feel a fist collide with his cheek. He fell back against the wall, surprised by the smack. When it had fully registered, he didn't even have to look at who had done it. The icy voice was all he needed._

"_Well well well. Look who it is. It's the b-ball reject."_

_Brandon growled "Out of my way Bolton."_

_Troy scoffed "Or what? You'll get your posse to jump me? Oh yeah! You don't have one! Sucks to be you!"_

_Brandon glared at him heavily and spat "Out of my way or I'll kick you until you're anorexic."_

"_That a threat?" Troy asked simply._

"_Wanna find out?" Brandon replied, throwing his fist at Troy's face. He succeeded in the attack as Troy fell to the floor, quickly rising again and snapped his fingers._

_Brandon gave him a questioning glance before Chad and Zeke emerged from around the corner. They smiled evilly at Brandon and crooned "Problem Troy?"_

_Troy shrugged "Maybe. Maybe not if he's not unconscious. Hint hint, wink wink."_

_Chad cracked his knuckles while Zeke gripped Brandon by the collar. Brandon shut his eyes tight. This wasn't going to end well._

**END FLASHBACK**

Brandon sighed shakily in pain. He had been thrown against a wall, kicked in the stomach, head-butted against a wall, choked, and had been given a swirlly. He could barely walk and it usually took him 5 minutes to walk from home to school and vise versa. Just when he thought that Troy's friends were done, he comes along and beats him for no reason in particular. Little did Brandon know that Troy did have a reason. One that would probably take a while for him to figure out but for now, he didn't really care. All he cared about was his aching joints.

He stumbled into the kitchen where he knew his mother and Gabriella were. Hearing their cries, he fell in a heap on the floor. He was immediately regained from the ground and dragged to a stool. Gabriella cried "What the hell happened?!"

Their mother groaned "Oh no honey, did it happen again?"

Brandon nodded, earning a sharp shooting pain in his neck. He drew a sharp breath and bit his lip, waiting for the pain to subside. When it finally did, he whispered "It was over something... different this time."

Gabriella asked "Like what?"

Brandon shrugged "I don't know. After Troy got done, he said to me 'I'm going to win her no matter how much you try.' I have no idea what he's talking about because Amy just broke up with me and either than her, I don't like anyone else."

Gabriella shook her head in disbelief. From what Brandon had told her, that was just like Troy. She could tell that Brandon couldn't take much more of this, but with her there now, he would at least be a little stronger.

Gabriella's phone suddenly beeped, surprising her. She walked over to it and groaned when she saw what was written across the screen.

"Mall w/ Shar."

It wasn't the fact that she had to go to the mall with her best friend, it was that she wanted to be there for Brandon. He was hurt pretty badly and it would be rude and hurtful if she had suddenly bailed on him.

"Go." a voice suddenly said behind her. Gabriella turned around to look into Brandon's soft brown eyes. She asked "What?"

Brandon smiled "Go with Sharpay. I think you need to catch up with her more than you do with me. Plus I heard that she has a surprise for you when you get there."

Gabriella grinned "You sure? I can always reschedule."

Brandon shook his head and assured "Yeah I'm fine. Go have fun."

Gabriella hugged him lightly, careful not to disturb his bruises. "You're the best big bro ever, you know that?"

Brandon laughed "Yeah, I kinda figured that after you wanted to blow off your friends for me."

Gabriella quarried "Friends? I thought it was just Sharpay."

Brandon grinned "You sure about that?"

Gabriella's eyes widened. She grabbed her purse as though her life depended on it and sped out the door, her heart beating 10 times faster than the speed of light.

----

When Gabriella arrived at the mall, she looked around the food court for her blonde friend. When she saw Sharpay waving at her, she smiled brightly and ran over to her.

"Hey Shar!" Gabriella greeted.

"Hey Gabby! What's up?"

"Nothing. What about you?" She answered, eyeing the person in a brown rain coat sitting opposite from Sharpay.

"Same. Hey, I want you to meet someone." Gabriella smiled weakly. The person looked kind of strange, but looks could be deceiving.

"Gabby, this is my friend, T." The person, with a hood over their head and their hands covering their face, waved at Gabriella.

Gabriella gave Sharpay a skeptical glance. Sharpay said "T, stop being rude and take your hands off your face."

Gabriella asked "T as in..."

T suddenly threw her coat off and stood up to face Gabriella, who stopped breathing when she saw who it was.

"T as in Taylor!" Taylor squealed.

Gabriella finally found her strength and gathered Taylor in a lung-crushing hug, yelling "Tay! Oh my God, you scared me so much! I thought that you were a murderer for a second!"

Taylor laughed "Well, that or a rapist. But I'm just Tay. So how are you?"

Gabriella answered "Ok. But Brandon came home beat up again today."

Taylor darkened and mumbled "3 guesses who caused it."

Gabriella nodded and replied "I still don't fully understand what's going on between him and Troy, but I don't know how much longer he can take it."

Sharpay piped up "Don't worry Gabby. We know Brandon and he's strong, just like his sister," Gabriella blushed at her comment and looked at her feet. "How about we take our minds off of it by heading to American Eagle? I just need that purple cami that I found!"

Gabriella smiled and agreed "Yeah, I want the blue one."

"Green." Taylor chimed in.

The three friends galloped off to their favorite store, arms linked and singing loudly "Best friends for life! Break us up, we'll break your face!"

"_Or get Brandon to do it for us."_ Gabriella thought to herself before heading into the store.

* * *

**TAKE ME TO AMERICAN EAGLE WITH YOU!!! lol! AE is one of my fave stores, even though I have nothing from it :( I'm hopefully going to the mall either today or tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted. lol! So there's your new chap. Check out my new stories Protected by Heart and The Cool Lie and tell me what you think. REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	6. This Isn't Over

After sweeping American Eagle, Wet Seal, Aeropostale, DEB, Hollister, and Abercrombie clean, the three friends headed back to Sharpay's large house. Once walking through the tall doors, Sharpay announced "Well, this is it. Welcome back Gabby."

While Sharpay tried to remind her friend of where everything was, Gabriella was standing there dumbfounded. She forgot how large the Evans' house was, but she just wasn't used to everything yet. She hadn't been in the house since... she actually forgot the last time she had stepped inside. And she missed it. Badly.

"Holy crap!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I forgot how castle-like this place was."

Sharpay smiled and said "Yeah, we got the floors redone and the walls were painted a different color. Plus, we got new glass for the chandelier. No one's noticed, but I don't expect them to."

After briefly laughing, Gabriella asked "So, where's Ryan? I forgot to say 'hi' to him at school today."

Sharpay pointed towards the stairs and answered "Up in his room," Her face suddenly lit up as she slyly said "Why don't we go have a little... _fun_ with him, huh girls?"

Gabriella and Taylor grinned evilly at each other. Sharpay was always up for some mischief. That's what made her so exiting.

"I'm in." Taylor chimed in. "Gabby?"

Gabriella nodded and added "First one to the kitchen gets to dump the eggs on him!"

"You're on!" Taylor and Sharpay screamed. With that, the three girls sped off to the large Evans kitchen. They grabbed anything messy that they could find, including eggs, milk, chocolate syrup, cream cheese, leftover liver for the adults, pickles, and finally, hot sauce.

With their arms full, the pranksters raced up the stairs quietly and headed for Ryan's room. Hearing the music blasting inside, they figured that they were safe. Laying the stuff on the carpet carefully, Sharpay whispered "Ok guys, here's the plan..."

Once getting their plan together, Sharpay and her friends got into position. Sharpay knocked on the door and called "Ry! Sorry to interrupt your Jesse McCartney session, but mom wants you on the phone. Come out here for a second."

Ryan groaned and called "One second!"

Sharpay looked to either side of her where her friends were. Gabriella and Taylor nodded approvingly. Ryan opened the door and stepped outside complaining "I hope this is good. I was just about to get to Just So You Kno-"

"GET HIM!!!" Sharpay suddenly screamed. Alarmed, Ryan asked "What?"

Gabriella and Taylor jumped out from behind the walls and started throwing a concoction of cracked eggs and milk, liver coated with chocolate and hot sauce, and cream cheese with pickle juice. Ryan howled in surprise and screamed "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Sharpay giggled "You should know that mom never calls the house unless our phones are dead. God, you're so ignorant."

Ryan's mouth dropped in horror as his brand new white hat was splashed with a disgusting mess, only having liver land in his mouth. He spit it out and started gagging. Backing up into his room, he screamed "BITCHES!!!"

The girls' mouth's dropped in false surprise as Gabriella shouted "ASSHOLE!!!"

With one finally scream from Ryan, Gabriella and the girls dropped to their knees in laughter.

"T-that was the funniest thing I've done since I got back here! Nice one Sharpay!" Gabriella giggled.

"Yeah, but was it too mean?" Taylor asked.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before breaking out into even more laughter.

"Yeah right!" Sharpay laughed.

Just as they were about to get off of the floor, a now changed Ryan burst of his room with furry written across his pale face. Sharpay concerned "Where are you going?"

Ryan didn't respond. He just kept walking across the hall to Sharpay's room. They shrugged, figuring that he was only taking a shower that was closer to the blonde's room.

"Ok, so what are we going to do nex-"

Suddenly, they heard a crash from Sharpay's room. Surprised, the girls jumped to their feet and ran to the room. Once there, their mouths dropped in horror. Sharpay's entire makeup case was now smashed to pieces. Lip gloss and moisturizer now coated the carpet and eye shadow mixed with blush filled the holes. Her $200 dollar makeup case was now ruined.

"WHAT THE HELL RYAN?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Ryan smiled in victory as he explained "That hat cost me $200, so I got you back. Now what?"

Sharpay mumbled "Son of a... I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"

She charged for her brother, but was held back by her two friends. Taylor quickly said "Sharpay! Don't do it! You'll just stoop to his level!"

Gabriella added "Yeah, trust me! I've heard stories from Brandon that involved something like this and you're better off letting it go! Don't be like him!"

Sharpay, still red in the face, walked over to the mess and dropped to her knees. She looked up at her brother and growled "This isn't over."

Ryan shrugged and said "I think it is. We both had our fun, now we have to pay for it. Literally."

Sharpay gave a sharp flinch in his direction. He ran out of the room laughing. Sharpay looked down at the mess and muttered "This took me months to collect. He knew how important it was to me. I'm going to get his sorry ass."

Gabriella rubbed her back and comforted "Don't worry. I saw most of this stuff on eBay. It's unused." Sharpay gave a sad smile and nodded.

"_I've found a reason to show, a side of me you didn't know..."_

Gabriella's phone sounded in her ears as she took it from her pocket. "Hello... oh my God, are you sure... Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye"

"What?" Taylor asked.

"Brandon went to the doctor's and sprained his ankle. Troy, that bastard."

"It's Ok Gabby, as long as it's not broken." Sharpay defended.

Gabriella smiled and said "I have to go. Sorry about your makeup case. You'll have it back in no time. Bye guys!"

With a wave, Gabriella dashed out the door and headed to her house, ready to comfort her brother.

----

When Gabriella reached her front door, she took a deep breath and opened it. She headed for the living room and sighed sadly at the sight. Brandon was watching TV, his leg wrapped in a cast and bandages on his face and arm. She walked over to him and sat down, asking "Hey. How are you feeling?"

Brandon shrugged "I've been better. But I am now that you're here."

Gabriella smiled and blushed. She laid her head down in her brother's chest and asked "Why were you ever friends with him?"

Brandon answered "I don't know. He used to be so nice, but I guess high school changes everything. Everyone, except you. You haven't changed since middle school."

Gabriella shook her head and corrected "Yeah right! When I went to Sharpay's in middle school, we didn't attack Ryan with eggs, milk, chocolate syrup, cream cheese, liver, and hot sauce. It ruined his hat."

"You didn't." Brandon gasped.

Gabriella shrugged "What? We were in a mood."

Brandon shook his head and said "That's just like Sharpay. I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan did something to get back at you guys."

"He did," Gabriella answered "He wrecked her makeup case."

Brandon let out a howl of laughter and said "Ha! Bet she's pissed!"

Gabriella nodded her head and said "She is. But she's going to get most of it back on eBay."

With a nod, Brandon felt his sister snuggle closer into his chest and drift off to sleep. Brandon looked down on her and stroked her hair, whispering "Good to have you home Gabby."

----

The next day at school, Gabriella was getting her books out of her locker when she heard someone behind her whistle and croon "Wow. You sure don't take after your brother."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and growled "What do you want Bolton?"

Troy laughed "What? We're on a last name basis already? Ok, Montez, I just wanted to know if you wanted to get some lunch after school."

Gabriella scoffed "After what you did to my brother? Forget it. Go find yourself someone actually stupid enough to hang out with you."

Troy sighed "I didn't even do anything to him! It was my friends!"

Gabriella stared at him and said "One, he said that you beat him up after Chad and Zeke did and two, you didn't even stop your friends! You idiots sprained his ankle!"

Troy was about to respond, but Gabriella stopped him with "Tell you what. Meet me at the lake after school. If you're not there, you don't stand a chance."

Troy grinned and answered "Diffidently."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and walked to her next class, leaving Troy to wonder what the brunette had in mind for them.

* * *

**Well... truthfully, I don't really like that one. It didn't really have anything to it, except the humor -shrug- Oh well. I wanted to give you one last humorous chapter before I start the drama :) REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**-Additional News-**

**Check the Links section of my profile to see what my bro did to my iPod a month or two ago. He's such a jackass :(**


	7. The Lake

**Yay! I had off school 2day! I have no idea why, but I'm glad I did! **

**Ok, if want some Troy/Brandon friendship, you'll get it in this chapter... IN A FLASHBACK!!! lol! It's really long though. **

**And... yeah. There's some Troypay in the flashback. -shrug- It'll hopefully not happen again in this, but it had to be done. Ok, read :)**

* * *

Directly after school let out, Troy grabbed his homework and bolted out of the door to his car. He was the first in the parking lot, so he had plenty of time before the traffic rush of other students. He drove home, surprising his mother. He usually got home 15 minutes later than today.

"Uh... hello Troy. Home so early?" Mrs. Bolton asked her son.

"Can't talk. Gotta get to the lake." Troy informed. With that, he dumped his book bag on the floor and flew back out the door. Mrs. Bolton just sighed and went back to the spaghetti. She would never understand teenagers.

A few seconds later, she saw her obviously confused husband walk in the door.

"Where's he off to? He usually goes up to his room or over to Chad's." Jack observed.

Mrs. Bolton, or Lucy, answered "He said something about the lake. Probably meeting his friends there. Can you help me with the sauce?"

Jack nodded and walked over to his wife. Giving her a peck on the cheek, he started stirring the sauce. He was a very good cook.

"You know, I saw him talking to Gabriella today."

Lucy asked "Who's she? Oh God, please don't make it another girl. I don't think I can handle any more after Sharpay."

Jack laughed "Don't worry Lucy. Gabriella is Brandon's sister."

Lucy gasped "What's he doing with her? Brandon's sure to keep her away from Troy."

Jack nodded "I know. He probably would have if he was with her, but he wasn't. He's going to blow up when he finds out."

Lucy nodded. Brandon was always protective over the people he cared about, especially Gabriella. He wished that Troy was the same way. Ever since the Sharpay incident.

**FLASHBACK**

_13 year olds Troy and Brandon argued over who won the bubble-blowing contest that they held 10 minutes earlier._

"_No, let me tell you something! I've been a Hubba-Bubba champion since grade UNO!!! Don't be telling me that you know more about blowing bubbles than I do! You know ZIP!" Brandon yelled at his best friend, although he couldn't help but laugh._

"_You dumb ass! My bubble was obviously bigger than yours! If Sharpay says so, I'm right! What now?" Troy shouted right back with a smile. His girlfriend Sharpay stood at his side glaring at Brandon. She was the "referee" of the "event" and she was technically never wrong. Her word was engraved in stone and anyone who objected got the ice queen treatment. We won't even go into detail about that._

"_Give it up Montez! You lost fair and square! You may be my best friend, but I can tell when someone's lying. Sharpay, tell him how wrong he is."_

_Sharpay smiled brightly and chirped "Gladly."_

_She turned to Brandon with a glare and seethed "Listen Montez! Your bubble burst 2 seconds after you blew it, so don't try and cover that up! You couldn't have possibly seen it in 2 tiny seconds. Idiot." _

_Brandon rolled his eyes. He looked over at Troy as their eyes locked. They suddenly burst out laughing and fell to the floor, trying to contain themselves. Sharpay stood aside and looked at the two friends, confused._

"_Oh my God! Evans, what's your problem?" Brandon choked. He grabbed Troy's shoulder and tried to hoist himself up, but he just collapsed on the floor once again._

"_Yeah Sharpay," Troy added "We were just having some fun. You don't have to get all hyped up and serious. It's no big deal."_

_Sharpay scoffed and screamed at her boyfriend "So you're just going to blow off all that I did for you?!"_

_Troy said "Sharpay, it's not like I'm not grateful that you defended me, but-"_

"_No buts Bolton!" Sharpay screeched "You're not appreciative of what I do for you're stupid ass! Fine! If that's how you feel about it..."_

_Troy cut in "Sharpay, I AM appreciative of what you do for me! I just think that you're getting a little too exited over something this small." _

_Sharpay stared at him for a few seconds, leaving him in suspense. She finally huffed "I have to go!" and stormed down the hall of East Middle. Troy and Brandon rolled their eyes while Brandon laughed "So... why did you hook up with her again?"_

_Troy playfully glared at his best friend and shot "Shut up! She's just... had a few moments."_

_Brandon murmured "Uh huh. And by 'a few' you mean today, yesterday, the day before that..."_

_Troy sighed "Ok, ok! I get what you're saying, but it's not like you know more about Amy than I know about Sharpay. When's Amy's birthday?"_

_Brandon answered with no hesitation "June tenth. When's Sharpay's?"_

_Troy crooned "That's easy. It's..."_

_There was a long pause. Brandon rolled his eyes and teased "You don't even know her birthday, do you?"_

_Troy said "Of course I do! It's... just give me a minute."_

_Brandon laughed while getting his books out of his locker. Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he whispered "That's a damn shame."_

_Troy called after him "Whatever. It's not like the world's going to come to an end if I don't know my girlfriend's birthday."_

_Brandon waited for Troy to catch up to him and bragged "Dude! I know Sharpay's birthday and you don't? Don't you think that's a little pathetic?"_

_Troy defended "Oh please. I'm Troy Bolton! I for one am NOT pathetic!"_

_Brandon rolled his eyes and patted Troy's back "Whatever you say man. But the day's going to come when you two are happily married for the first year. She's going to be walking around all happy and you're going to be wondering why. Night comes and she says 'So Troy honey? Don't you have something to say to me?' And you're going to have no idea what she's talking about. 'Uhh... you like pie?'_

_Troy sighed with a roll of his eyes at his friend's sarcasm. He could be so immature at times. _

"_Yeah, and the day's going to come when you and Amy are engaged. You're walking around the park and she suddenly stops. You ask 'Amy, what's wrong baby?' Then, out of no where, she just slaps you. Hard. You scream 'What was that for?!' and she responds 'Troy told me to do it. Now, who wants pizza'?"_

_Brandon laughed and followed his friend down the hall. Suddenly, a scream rang through everyone's ears. Troy and Brandon plugged their ears and shouted to each other "Doesn't that sound like Sharpay?"_

_Troy replied "Yeah, where is she?"_

_Brandon answered "I don't know. Somewhere near the stairs."_

_Troy shrugged "Whatever. I'm sure she can take care of herself. After all, she's..."_

_Brandon and Troy smiled at each other and in unison, announced "Sharpay Evans! Drama leader in all that's living!" Afterwards, collapsed on the floor for the second time that day._

_When they arrived at Troy's house after school, Lucy emerged from the kitchen and cried "Troy, how could you?!"_

_Troy answered "Easy. I unlock the door, push it open-"_

"_Oh not that!" Lucy scolded. "Sharpay sprained her ankle running down the stairs at the school! She screamed and thought that you would come, but you didn't! What do you have to say for yourself? No one screams louder than her!"_

_Troy shrugged "I was on the other end of the school. Besides, she had her friends there."_

_Lucy groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "Troy, that's not the point. When you have a girlfriend, you're supposed to show at least SOME sign of at least caring!"_

_Troy rolled his eyes and said "I wouldn't have gotten there in time."_

_Lucy turned her back to the boys and informed "That doesn't matter! You're supposed to be there for her, no matter what happens. You're supposed to run as fast as you can to her, hold her close in your arms, and say that everything's alright. Let her know that you care about her." She rambled for a few minutes before Troy and Brandon slowly and quietly slipped out of the kitchen. When Lucy finally turned around, she asked herself "Where'd they go? Oh well. Look her deep in the eyes..."_

**END FLASHBACK**

Lucy shook free of the memory and continued chopping the onions, hoping that Troy's next girlfriend would be luckier than Sharpay.

----

Troy ran to the bridge over the lake and waited a few minutes for Gabriella. She came bouncing through the grass a few minutes later with Troy thinking _"She's so hot when her hair's down."_

Troy started to say "What's up Montez?" but found himself being fiercely pushed off of the bridge and onto the grass. He shook his head and warned "Well, that was rude! You should try being a little nicer to me if you want this school year to be a good one, Montez."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and growled "Fine. How's this for nice?"

She grabbed Troy's arm and briskly pushed to the edge of the river. Troy desperately tried to stop himself from falling, but it was too late. He had fallen into the cold, muddy lake water. Gabriella just smiled in satisfaction.

"W-what the hell was that for?!" Troy screamed once he got his head above the water a few seconds later.

"It didn't sprain your ankle, but it sure did ruin your new hundred dollar shirt. Later Bolton."

Troy stared as she walked off into the distance, his mouth wide open. He shook with rage and growled "You, Miss Montez, have just earned yourself on the train to hell." But on the inside, he was impressed. No one ever stood up to him like that or got him back for bullying someone they cared about. She had guts. And he liked it.

* * *

**I have to give props to brandonquinn101 for the idea of pushing Troy in the lake. She came up with that :) Virtual clap! lol! Sorry about the Troypay, but as said before, it had 2 b done. Ok, REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	8. If You Only Knew

...Gabriella...

Gabriella stepped through her door with the widest grin on her face. Brandon came limping up to her and smiled "Hey Gabby! Where've you been? You're usually not home this late. Did something happen?"

Gabriella nodded, still grinning. "I was at the lake."

Brandon, confused, asked "For what?"

"I was with Troy."

Brandon froze. His face grew red with furry as he shouted "I told you to stay away from him!!!"

Gabriella rolled her eyes and replied "Calm down Brandon! I was there to teach him a lesson."

"What kind of lesson?" Brandon seethed lowly, outraged with his sister.

"You told him to stay away from me and you and he didn't listen, so I pushed him into the lake."

Brandon's face came overwhelmed with surprise again, but this time, it was in a good way.

"You're not serious." He said, a smile growing.

Gabriella patted his back and reassured "Told you I had it covered."

"But he was wearing a $100 shirt."

Gabriella shrugged "I don't care. It took more than a hundred bucks to fix your ankle."

Brandon pulled his sister into a very tight, lung crushing hug and whispered in her ear "Thanks. I only have the guts to beat him up."

"Well then you've got more guts than me," Gabriella replied "If he doesn't learn from that, I don't know what will."

"Don't worry," Brandon said "If he comes anywhere near you, I'll make him think there's a darker color than black."

Gabriella kissed Brandon's cheek and said "Thanks. Well, I gotta go meet up with Sharpay and Taylor. We still have some catching up to do."

Brandon nodded in understanding and watched her grab her purse, running out the door to meet up with her friends.

"Thanks Gabriella." Brandon said to himself.

----

...Troy...

Troy sat on his bed, dry and clean. He wanted to get Gabriella back for her actions, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Curse my soft heart." Troy seethed to himself.

He lay there for what seemed like hours before his eyelids became heavier and heavier. He blinked and found that he couldn't open his eyes anymore. His mind faded into unconsciousness.

2 hours later, Troy jolted to a sitting position and cried "That's it!"

He ran over to his phone and pressed speed dial 2. Putting the phone to his ear, someone answered groggily "Troy, what the hell are doing calling me at 2 o clock in the morning?!"

"Oh suck it up!" Troy snapped "Listen, I need you to do something for me."

The person asked "Does it involve moving tonight?"

Troy rolled his eyes "No, but you have to get up early for school tomorrow."

Troy's friend groaned "Why? I'm always late anyway."

Troy said "There's a first for everything. It involves messing with Montez."

"Which one?"

"Both of them." Troy slyly answered.

"Hmm... this conversation just got more interesting. What do I have to do?"

"Just meet me at my locker at 6:00. Don't be late."

"Oh I won't. And Troy?"

"What?"

"Don't you _ever_ call me at 2 in the morning again."

"Whatever."

With that, the two boys hung up and fell back on their beds. Troy grinned and whispered to himself "Don't keep me waiting Chad."

----

...6:00 in the Morning...

Troy waited at his locker for Chad, tapping his foot impatiently. He was about to bring out his phone when he saw his best friend slumping down the hallway, his eyes half open.

"Hurry up Chad! People are gonna get here in a few minutes!"

"Give me a second!" Chad mumbled, thinking he was shouting it. Troy just rolled his eyes.

Once Chad finally reached him, Troy said "Okay, so this is what I have in mi-"

"How long is this gonna take?" Chad asked "I have to make up a test."

Troy sighed "Since when do you care about failing a test?"

Chad answered "If I fail again, I get kicked off the team. I have to go in a half an hour, so hurry up."

Troy sighed again and replied "Okay, we'll cut out part of the plan. But it should take about 20 to 25 minutes, okay?"

Once Chad nodded, Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Handing it to Chad, he gloated "This, my friend, is the beauty of Photoshop."

When Chad opened it, his eyes widened so large, he was sure that they would dry out in a few seconds. His mouth dropped as he lowly asked "How did you get this?"

"She has a Myspace that's set to public view. Need I explain the other part?"

Chad shook his head slowly, a huge grin coming to play on his face. "Say no more," he said "How many copies do we need?"

"Enough for the whole school and a few more in case someone loses theirs. Man, this is gonna be so sweet! Let's go!"

With that, the two friends darted down the hallway to the library copier machine, laughing the whole way.

----

...At Lunch...

Gabriella couldn't take it anymore. All day, people have giving her weird looks. Boys have been checking her out and flirting with her heavily, having their girlfriends glare at her. She consulted all the pranksters, but they promised that they weren't doing anything. She asked Brandon if he told them a funny or nasty story about her and he assured that he wouldn't do something like that to her.

Lunch finally came and Gabriella was still getting the weird looks. She saw two boys run up to her and bump her hips at the same time. Unfortunately for her, Brandon was staying late after class and wasn't at lunch yet. But their girlfriends chased them away from her, sending their glares to her.

"Taylor!" Gabriella cried when she saw her friend "Where's Sharpay? I need her help."

"With what?" Taylor replied, a look of concern taking over her face.

"People have been giving me weird looks all day, especially the boys. Their girlfriends just glare at me. I don't know what's going on!"

"I've noticed that too." Taylor said "Why do you need Sharpay?"

Gabriella answered "She's always 'in the know'. She knows what's going on with everything."

"That makes sense," Taylor agreed "Oh, here she comes. Let's go ask her."

Gabriella and Taylor ran towards the blonde, who looked very frantic and angry at the moment. "Sharpay! I need your help!"

"Does it have to do with the picture?" Sharpay seethed, her eyes scanning the cafeteria wildly.

"What picture?" Taylor asked.

"You mean you haven't seen it?" Sharpay replied, her face softening at her best friends "It's horrible."

"Is it a picture of me?" Gabriella asked worriedly.

"Yeah. You know Mindy Harrison?"

Gabriella nodded.

"You know how that cheerleader took that picture of her when she was changing?"

Gabriella nodded sadly and whispered "That poor girl."

"And poor you! Someone kind of... they... uhh... here" Sharpay sighed and handed Gabriella the crumpled paper in her hands. Gabriella took it and, giving her friend a skeptical look, flattened the paper on her thigh. What she saw made her heart stop and her blood become cold. It was her face, hair straightened attached to Mindy's nude body. Leading from her mouth was a speech bubble saying "So this is what you get from the bottom of a lake."

"Bolton." Gabriella seethed through her teeth. She re-crumpled the paper and threw it into the trash can furiously, stomping over to the jocks table.

"_This means war."_ Gabriella thought to herself.

----

...The Jock Table...

The entire table erupted into another fit of laughter, hysterical after Troy and Chad told them what they did.

"You seriously did that?!" Jason asked through laughs.

"Yup." Troy answered simply.

"How did you pull it off without getting caught?" Zeke wondered.

"The librarian is never fully awake in the morning. She asked to see what we were copying and I just handed her my history homework." Troy replied.

"She didn't even look at it. She just said 'Okay' after he took it out of his book bag." Chad added. "It was hilarious."

"You guys are screwed if Montez finds out it's you, especially Brandon." Jason warned, gulping down his water.

"I don't care," Troy shrugged "If he threatens to beat me up, I just laugh. When's he ever gonna figure out that he'll never win with me?"

"You mean with us?" Chad asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Right. You guys did most of the work anyway. Thanks."

The conversation continued until a scream was heard ringing through the cafeteria.

"TROY BOLTON!!!"

"Uh oh," Jason whispered "Montez alert."

"I got this." Troy said back. He turned around in his seat and asked sweetly "Yes Gabriella?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!" Gabriella shouted, pulling out Taylor's copy of the picture.

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about." Troy replied innocently, trying to suppress his laughter.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!! YOU AND BRANDON ARE THE ONLY ONE'S WHO KNOW ABOUT ME PUSHING YOU INTO THE LAKE!!! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!?!"

The color drained from Troy's face when she mentioned the lake. He shot out of his seat and grabbed her, putting a strong hand over her mouth.

"Follow me." He whispered in her ear.

"Mmpphhh!!! Humph!!!" was all Gabriella could mutter. Troy pulled her into a random janitorial closet while shouts like "Yeah Troy!" and "Get some!" rang in his ears. He rolled his eyes and locked the door, preventing her from getting out.

"What the hell Bolton?! What's wrong with you?!" Gabriella shouted.

"Stop!" Troy demanded. Gabriella fell back on the ground, still in her furious state.

"Listen," Troy started "If people figure out that I was pushed in the lake by a girl, my reputation goes in the lake with me. Do you understand?"

"You honestly think I care?!" Gabriella snapped "You've put my brother through hell for the last 4 years for now reason and what do you have to show for it?! You're stupid reputation?!"

Troy rolled his eyes and calmly said "Gabriella, I have a very good reason as to why I'm doing this to your brother. I want to-"

"Humiliate him for life?!"

"No!" Troy defended "I just want to-"

"You know, you really had me fooled Troy," Gabriella said with her arms crossed "When I first got here, I thought that you looked like a nice guy. Then you go and do that to Brandon. I can't trust you Troy. Don't even talk to me."

"Gabriella..." Troy tried.

"Don't even. Just go back to your posse."

Troy froze as she walked out. He stared at her slightly slumped body with sorrow and whispered to himself "If only you knew..."

* * *

**Srry guys! I wanted to get this out yesterday, but I was too busy spending my xmas money. lol! So what does Troy mean by "If only you knew..."? If only we/she knows what? REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	9. Only for You

...Brandon...

"MOVE!!!" Brandon screamed to a random boy in the hallway. He was just informed in what happened to his sister and to be totally honest, he couldn't remember when he was so angry. This time, he would give all of his anger to Troy, no matter how much trouble he got into.

**FLASHBACK (5 Minutes)**

_Brandon closed his locker with a sigh. He hated staying late for class during lunch. He needed to be with Gabriella as much as possible. At least, that's what she said during third period. She was about to explain why, but it was then time for their gym class, which they had separately. Even with no explanation, Brandon agreed with no hesitation. He had a feeling that something was wrong anyway._

_Halfway to lunch, Brandon's friend Michael ran up to him with a paper in his hands. _

"_Hey Mike. What's the rush?" Brandon greeted curiously._

"_Dude, you're not gonna be happy when you see what I have for you." Michael answered nervously._

_With narrowed eyes, Brandon quarried "What is it?"_

"_Uhh... here." The blonde haired boy whispered._

_Brandon slowly took the paper from his friend's hands and gazed down at the result. Michael could no longer see Brandon's rosy cheeks due to the drain that had occurred. He then saw it come back, only it spread to his entire face._

"_Where did you get this?" Brandon seethed. His voice was low and dangerous with rage. Michael knew what was coming._

"_I-in my locker. E-everyone has one except you and Gabriella." Michael replied quietly, staring at the ground, trying to avoid Brandon's strong, hateful glare._

_Brandon didn't say anything else. He just slowly balled up the paper in his hands and tossed it to Michael. He let out a deep throated growl and stomped down the hall, thinking_ "I'm gonna kill you."

**END FLASHBACK**

The lunchroom silenced when Brandon came crashing through the doors. He ignored the whispers and rumors that were starting to form as he scanned the cafeteria for the obvious culprit. He caught him sulking out of the janitor's closet after Gabriella, who was in tears. This just made him angrier. He ran over to him and screamed "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

"What's what?" was all that Troy could muster. He really wasn't in the mood for talking.

"What's with you making her cry?! Huh?! What did you do to her?!" Brandon shouted back. He could hear the students starting to get anxious behind him, but he didn't care about them. All he wanted was Troy to get what he thought he deserved. And that was a lot in his book.

"I didn't do anything to your precious sister. She just started crying for no reason." Troy said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh really?" Brandon said calmly, but was the farthest from calm. He grabbed a flyer out of someone's hand and held it up to Troy's face. "This is what you call nothing?! Is that it?"

"I really think you're over reacting to this, Montez. I didn't do that." Troy replied, backing up.

"Yeah, the Tooth Fairy did, I know that Bolton!" Brandon said sarcastically. Anyone could see the fury building on his eyes.

"I'm not the one who scanned it! And when will you ever grow up and stop being so damn immature Montez?! We're not in elementary school, so you can stop with your stupid jokes." Troy spat.

"The day you stop remember what a liar you are." Brandon growled, staring Troy square in the eye.

"That a threat?" Troy seethed.

"No, it's a promise." Brandon shouted, throwing his fist at Troy, who fell back, clutching his face. Brandon followed him and immediately kicked him in the shin, sending him to the ground. Troy cried out in pain and looked up at Brandon. He never saw him this angry. He prepared for the stomach kicks that he saw coming.

All through the fight, Troy stayed on the ground, wall, or wherever Brandon hurt him. He didn't fight back. This didn't go unnoticed by Brandon, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything except the image of a teary Gabriella that never left his mind. With every punch and kick that he threw at Troy, the image faded more and more until he couldn't see it anymore. He took this as a sign to stop.

He gazed down at his work. Blood everywhere. Troy couldn't even open his eyes. He grinned in satisfaction and bent down to Troy's level, whispering "Next time, I'll kill you. Stay away from my sister. That's the last time I'll say it. Stay away from her." With that, he wiped his bloody hands on a spare napkin and ran to the bathrooms, ready for the tears.

----

...Gabriella...

Gabriella watched Troy sink to the floor again. She was watching her brother fight Troy and truthfully, she wasn't sure what to feel. She knew that she should be cheering Brandon on, but she just couldn't. She wanted Troy to get what he brought among himself, but she didn't want him to get hurt. She didn't know what she was feeling, but she didn't like it.

This had to stop. She couldn't watch this anymore. She ran from behind the wall where she was hiding and tore down the hallway to the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall and started crying more and more.

What was happening to her? Was she already starting to forgive Troy? She couldn't. At least, not so soon. What if Brandon caught wind of this? How much trouble would she be in? He was the oldest twin anyway. He could do pretty much anything he wanted. She didn't want to disappoint him after all that he's done for her. He stood up for her after what Troy did and warned her about his actions. Just when she thought she could make friends with a popular jock, her spirits fall and she felt that not even Brandon could pick them up.

"Gabby! Gabriella, come out here! I need to talk to you!" someone yelled outside the door. Gabriella knew that it was Brandon. Who else would it be?

"Leave me alone!" Gabriella screamed while crashing into more tears.

"Gabby, I know that what he did hurts, but you have to come out sometime. Me, Taylor, and Sharpay are worried about you. Please? Come out."

Gabriella thought it over for a second. She really wanted to face her friends, but what would they say to her? What if she said something that would make Brandon get angry all over again? She decided to at least take a chance. She slowly stood and pushed her way through the door, revealing a worried Brandon, Taylor, and Sharpay, just like Brandon promised.

"What?" Gabriella whimpered. Brandon sighed and pulled his sister into a tight hug, letting her sob into his chest.

"Gabby, I'm sorry," Brandon started "I should've seen this coming. I'm sorry I didn't protect you enough from him. He'll never come near you again."

"That's okay Brandon." Gabriella reassured "It's my own fault. I'm the one who pushed him into the lake. I knew that he gets back at people like me. And you know that's not possible. He'll try to apologize and what if you're not around?"

Brandon tucked a stray hair behind her ear and replied "I promise if there's anyone that can convince him to stay away from someone, it's me. I think I've done that already."

Gabriella laughed into his shoulder and said "I don't think he'll ever stop until he gets what he wants. He's persistent. You know that."

"I know, but you're always worth one more try." Brandon replied, rubbing her back. Gabriella smiled and hugged him closer, loving the fact that she would always have him to turn to.

"I love you Brandon." Gabriella whispered.

"I love you too Gabby." Brandon replied with a smile.

----

1 week later, Gabriella found herself in her room doing her homework with her iPod blaring from her iHome. Just as she was about to figure out a problem, she heard a loud knock on her balcony door. She jumped in surprise, but calmed when she saw who it was. She rolled her eyes and walked to her doors. She stood limply and, with bored eyes, mouthed "What do you want?"

Troy breathed deeply and tried "Gabriella, I'm sor-"

"Goodbye!" Gabriella shouted. She pulled down the blinds and walked back to her bed, rolling her eyes. _"He's way too desperate."_ She thought to herself.

Troy started knocking on the door again, this time pleading "Gabriella, please open the door! I just want to talk! I'm sorry about last week! Please open up! Gabriella!"

"Go away Troy!" Gabriella called, making sure that Brandon didn't hear her. That would get messy.

"I'm not going anywhere until I talk to you." Troy stubbornly said.

Gabriella groaned and pulled herself off of her bed again. She walked over to the door and pushed it open, taking Troy by surprise. He sheepishly grinned and looked at his feet. Gabriella looked him over. He had healed from the fight, but you could still tell that he was in one. He had scars and scratches all over his face and arms. It looked like he didn't even try to fight Brandon off.

"What do you want?" Gabriella asked in a bored tone. Troy cleared his throat and said "Hey. Listen, I just want to say that I'm so so sorry about the nude picture. It was my idea, but I didn't really do anything. I made it on my computer, but Chad's the one who copied it and handed them out. I was just watching him."

"But was he the one who printed it out in the first place? And you were _just_ watching? You didn't stop him? Don't you see something wrong with that?"

Troy tried to defend himself by saying "I can't risk my reputation by doing stupid stuff like that. Chad always does the dirty work for me. His reputation _is_ doing stupid stuff like that."

"Again with your reputation! When will you realize that the whole world doesn't revolve around you?! Are you really that self centered?!" Gabriella spat.

Troy shouted "Maybe I am! Have you ever thought that I hung around your brother too much and now his prissiness has rubbed off on me?!"

At that moment, Troy felt a hand make painful contact with his face. He fell back and clutched his face while Gabriella, hands on her hips and walking toward him slowly, seethed "How's that for prissy?"

"Gabby-"

"Don't ever call me Gabby! Only Brandon, my mom, Sharpay, and Taylor can call me that! Now get out before Brandon kills you!"

"Gabriella-"

"Get out before I push you off the balcony!" Gabriella threatened. She felt powerful. She hadn't felt that way in a long time.

Troy sighed and whispered "You know you're going to talk to me eventually. I waited 7 years to play on a basketball team without Brandon and I can wait for you to talk to me. Bye." With that, Troy hoisted himself over the railing and climbed down the balcony, his head low.

Gabriella grinned to herself in satisfaction and headed back inside her room. But before she could reach her bed, she felt arms wrap around her and stroke her hair. She knew who it was and what they wanted, but she still said "What's that for?"

Brandon replied softly "You stood up for yourself. You don't need me after all."

Gabriella smiled to herself and hugged her brother back. It felt good to be in protective arms. He was right. She didn't need him to protect her from the big, bad Troy Bolton.

"I'm proud of you Gabby. You really have changed. But for the better."

Gabriella grinned wider, but it faltered a bit.

"_You know you're going to talk to me eventually."_

Troy's words clung to her like a cactus. She knew he was right. She was already longing to stare into his intense blue eyes and have him explain, but she couldn't. She wouldn't. She wouldn't be weak. She had to be strong.

For Brandon.

* * *

**Aww! So cheesy! lol! Seriously, are you happy that Brandon didn't beat Troy off the balcony or did you want him to? And what's with Troy's sudden attitude change? Not fighting Brandon off? What's with that? If you're getting a little tired of the Gabriella/Brandon lovey dovey stuff, just hang in there. There's a REALLY bad time for them coming up towards the middle of the story and you'll hate Brandon again. Okay, REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: 9 chapters plus the trailer and almost 200 review??? That's insane! Thanks people! Keep them coming :)**


	10. Not for Long

**Sorry about not updating in a while. I had to finish my other story Cheated and do a lot of other stuff. Anyway, here's a packed chapter. The end's a cliffhanger, so I'm sorry, but I didn't know how else to end it. Okay, READ!!! **

* * *

The days have been going slower for Troy and Gabriella. Both felt horrible about what they said to each other. Gabriella felt bad about slapping him and saying those things, but what was she supposed to do? Say "Oh don't worry about it Troy. It was just a nude picture. It's fine." 

She sighed and rolled off of her bed, walking into the shower. Hopefully this would clear her cluttered mind. She stripped and let the hot water cleanse her messy body, thinking _"Why do I feel this way? Troy's just another jerk that hurt me. Why do I want to forgive him all of a sudden? Am I really that soft? I need to toughen up. I'll thank myself later."_

After getting a nice, hot shower, she wrapped the towel around her bare body and walked back into her room. She reached for the doorknob and was about to open the door, but someone got to it first. She jumped back from the door and looked around for a spare object to defend herself, but calmed when she found that it was only Brandon. He stumbled out of the door and steadied himself against a wall. Blinking a few times, he said "Oh Gabby, I'm so sorry! I should've-"

"No, i-it's okay. I should learn to take my clothes in the bathroom with me."

The two shared a laugh before an awkward silence fell between them. Both had things to say, but couldn't bring themselves to say it. Gabriella was about to walk past him into her room when she noticed something on Brandon's face.

"What happened to your temple?" she asked.

"Huh?" Brandon asked, tensing up.

"You're bleeding. What happened?" Gabriella again asked. She walked up to him and adjusted his head so that the cut was facing her completely. As soon as she gripped his neck, he flinched and breathed sharply in pain. Gabriella stepped back slightly and apologized "Sorry."

"It's okay. You're just concerned." Brandon replied giving a weak smile. Gabriella nodded.

"Kay, I should be getting back to my room. See ya." Brandon excused himself. They walked past each other while Gabriella watched him limp back to his room. She sighed. He probably tripped over something and didn't want her to know. Whatever that reason was.

Gabriella closed her door and dived onto her bed. She closed her eyes and thought about why she was forgiving Troy so quickly. If Brandon ever found out...

Gabriella shook free of that unpleasant thought and grabbed a pair of pajamas. She threw the towel across the room and changed into her nightclothes. She was about to climb into bed when she forgot to put the towel back in the bathroom. She walked across the room and picked the damp towel off the floor, but something else caught her eye. Something shiny was lying under the towel.

Curious, she bent down and picked the silver object off of the floor. What she held in her hands cut her breathing. It was a necklace. But not just any necklace.

Troy was wearing it earlier that day. And it was bloody.

How could it be here? Unless...

"That's why." Gabriella whispered to herself.

----

...Brandon (His POV)...

I limped back to my room, totally exhausted. I fell back on my bed and cried out in pain. My side felt like someone was ripping something out of it. I slowly took my shirt off and looked at my hip. Just what I thought. He cut me. I tried to sit down, but the cut prevented that. I stood back up and fell back onto my bed, which hurt more than sitting. But I bit my lip to hold back my screams. Gabriella would come running in here and find out. She probably already did. The necklace was still there anyway.

**FLASHBACK (5 MINUTES, NO ONE'S POV)**

_While Gabriella was in the shower, Brandon walked into Gabriella's room with a basketful of laundry. He sighed and started sorting out her clean clothes when something caught his eye from the side. He looked over and froze when he saw what was on her balcony. There was Troy, climbing the fence to get to the top of it. _

_He slowly put the basket on Gabriella's bed and walked to the door, glaring at the teenage boy the whole time. Troy was too busy grunting and cursing, so he didn't hear the door open and Brandon step out. He landed on the floor with a thump. Brushing himself off, he took a deep breath and held his head up, but not for long. As soon as he was facing the door, Brandon swung his fist and socked Troy square in the jaw. He screamed in surprise as Brandon just laughed._

"_You really thought that you could sneak in without me finding you first, huh Bolton?" Brandon glared at him, walking forward._

_Troy just rubbed his sore jaw and spat "This is none of your business Montez. I just need to talk to your sister."_

"_And what if I don't let you do that?" Brandon replied harshly._

"_Don't let me? Well then, I guess I'll just have correct that sentence for you!" Troy screamed. He tossed himself onto Brandon and the two rolled around on the floor, throwing punches and kicks at each other, regretting nothing. Both fought for the same thing. Gabriella._

"_She's my sister Bolton! What don't you understand about that?!" Brandon shouted._

"_The part where you hog her! Ever realize that she has a life too?! You can't keep her locked up forever!" Troy screamed back._

"_I'm not locking her up! I'm protecting her from the real world!" Brandon retorted loudly. His mother wasn't home and Gabriella couldn't hear because of the shower water, so he knew he was safe._

"_The real world?! Is that what you call it?!" Troy rolled his eyes._

"_No. That's what I call you!" Brandon finalized, throwing another punch in Troy's direction._

"_Me? You're talking shit about me and I'm the one who came up to apologize?!" Brandon stopped at his words. He slowly lowered his clenched fists and stared into Troy's furious eyes._

"_I know what you're gonna say! 'What do I have to be sorry for?!' You're the one who's keeping her away from trust. I'm trying to get her to trust me again and you're keeping her away from that! You're the one who called her when I sprained your ankle and you know what that did?! It tore her away from helping a friend in need! You're brainwashing and confusing her Brandon! She's not a little girl anymore! She's becoming too dependent on you! You don't need to be a father for her! She's already had enough of that! She came to East High looking for someone to help her forget about your dad and you're taking his place all over again! Just stop it and let her go! It's over!"_

_By now, Brandon's face had paled and his cuts had already bled to the bottom of his face. He stood there, staring at his ex-best friend with something that he hadn't felt in a long time for Troy. Admiration._

"_I'm tired of fighting with you. I'm tired of fighting over her. So take my advice and stop being so damn selfish." With that, Troy turned and limped out the door, not noticing the fact that his neck was lighter from the absence of something very special to him._

_Brandon stood there for a few minutes until he was sure he was going to pass out. He closed his eyes and slowly walked out the room, soaking in Troy's words. Was his worst enemy actually right?_

_Just as he was about to let his tears fall, he heard a small scream. Snapping his head up, he saw that it was Gabriella out of the shower. Clad in only a towel, he blinked a few times to get rid of the tears and apologized "Oh Gabby, I'm so sorry! I should've-"_

"_No, i-it's okay. I should learn to take my clothes in the bathroom with me."_

**END FLASHBACK**

...Brandon's POV...

I laughed slightly at her joke. She always was the funniest out of the two of us. I was always trying to comfort her with the parents situation and... protect her. I sighed. Maybe Troy was right. Maybe I was protecting her a little too much. I couldn't believe that I was actually listening to Troy, but I couldn't help it. He was sometimes smart enough to make you think. I decided to listen to him. She needed to trust boys again.

"Don't make me regret this Troy." I seethed in between my teeth. Flipping onto my side painfully, I drifted off to sleep, not looking forward to tomorrow.

----

...At School...

"You did _WHAT_?!" Michael shouted at Brandon. The twin sighed and shut his locker, turning to his best friend and answered "I'm listening to my worst enemy. Mike, he has a point. I've been hovering over Gabriella for too long. It's time to let her go and let her live her own life. I should've been doing that from the start."

"But it's TROY!!! He'll say anything to get to Gabriella! Are you sure you're not sick?!" Michael retorted. Brandon nodded.

Michael sighed and calmly said "God, I sure hope you know what you're doing. What if it was just a trap?"

Brandon nodded "Let me take care of that. He'll pay for it if it doesn't."

Michael shook his head one last time and walked to his next class, mumbling things to himself.

"_Hope Gabby's doing better than me."_ Brandon thought to himself, following Michael.

----

...Gabriella...

Gabriella groaned once again. She had yet again found another 'I'm Sorry' note from Troy. She was surprised that Brandon hadn't noticed them yet.

"_Probably doesn't know yet. I'll go tell him."_ Gabriella thought. Just as she was about to round the corner, she felt someone push her into the lockers.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?! LET ME GO YOU RAPIST!!!" Gabriella screamed to the stranger.

"Gabriella, calm down! It's just me and Chad!" Troy quickly reassured. Gabriella looked up to find the blue eyed boy and his bushy haired friend. "What do you want?!"

Troy took a deep breath and started "Look, I'm sorry about what happened last week. It was a misunderstanding and it'll never happen again! Please forgive me and let us just forget that this whole charade never happened, okay?" Chad smiled cheekily and so did Troy. Gabriella just crossed her arms and laughed at the two boys.

"You really think that after that stupid apology I'm going to just up and forgive you just like that?" Troy and Chad nodded dumbly.

Gabriella scoffed "Well think again. I'm not going to be the weak link in the chain."

Chad leaned into Troy and whispered "What chain?" Troy rolled his eyes.

"Please Gabriella-"

"Forget it Troy!" Gabriella retorted "The day I forgive you is when you ride three wild pigs through these halls, yodeling at the top of your lungs, and dressed as a hobo! Now leave me alone!" With that, she walked away from the two boys.

Troy smirked to himself. Chad turned to his best friend and groaned "Don't even."

"Too late." Troy crooned, spacing out.

"This ought to end well..." Chad thought to himself before following Troy to the gym.

...That Night...

Troy lie awake in his bed, pondering Gabriella's words. He knew that she was just being sarcastic when she told him to ride around the school on pigs, but the thought stuck to him. Should he really do something that insane just to get one girl's attention?

"Worth a shot," Troy concluded "I'll stop by Uncle Sean's farm tomorrow." With that, he settled into his bed and drifted off to sleep.

The school was in for a big surprise on Monday.

----

...Monday...

Taylor clapped at Gabriella's recent news. "Good for you Gabby! You stood up for yourself! Especially to Troy! That's really some improvement!"

Gabriella smiled and replied "Well, I had to tell him how pathetic he was being. Just because he gives a stupid apology he thinks he can-"

"Oh my God." Taylor whispered, eyes wide, and looking in the direction opposite of Gabriella.

"What?" Gabriella asked, spinning around. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." She groaned.

----

...Brandon...

Brandon walked through the halls of East High with Michael by his side, chomping on his gum and rolling his eyes at some nerds.

"I really need to take care of this nerd problem." Brandon thought out loud.

"Dude, isn't that the king's job? Name wise Troy?" Michael asked.

Brandon was about to respond, but something at the front doors caught his eye. He grinned evilly and whispered "He won't be king for long..."

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!!! lol! Sorry about that. Now I hope to get even more reviews! So REVIEW and see what happens! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: Check out the new and improved trailer! It's a normal one that has scenes in between the dialouge, so you're in luck. There's future moments in the story and a hint as to what's catching everyone's eye. If you read this chapter carefully, you know what it is :)**


	11. Wild Hogs

**Have I mentioned how much I hate my brother?! When I told you that my keyboard was broken, Arthur took a look at it and fixed it in like 2 minutes.**

**IT'S BEEN WORKING FINE FOR A WHOLE EFFING WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY PARENTS DIDN'T EVEN DO ANYTHING ABOUT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Anyways, srry about this. I kicked his ass. He's such an idiot. So here's the next chapter. Some of you already know what's gonna happen. You're just naturally smart like that. lol :)**

**There's lots of language in this, so be prepared...**

* * *

"What the hell?" Gabriella slowly whispered as Troy waltzed over to her. It wasn't Troy's presence that was shocking Gabriella, it was what he was wearing.

He looked absolutely ridiculous. He wore a read and white plaid button up shirt under overall straps and his overall jeans had at least 7 holes in them. On his feet were very painful looking wooden clogs in the ugliest shade of yellow and brown imaginable. For his head, he wore a medium sunhat that would do absolutely nothing for him if it were sunny outside. To finish it all off, he stuck a long piece of straw in his grinning mouth.

Gabriella crossed her arms and shook her head, trying to suppress her laughter. Troy smiled and, removing the straw, teased "Permission to speak?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, but nodded.

Troy started "Okay. Well then I hope this'll be enough for your forgiveness. I'm doing you a really big favor and I hope you know that by the end of this, my reputation is going to take a giant kick in the ass. How far do I have to go?"

Gabriella remained silent for a while. He had to be out of his mind. Was he really that stupid to listen to her and ride wild pigs throughout the halls of East High? He really was desperate.

Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed "The perimeter of the school gets you a year of my attention, Darbus's room gets you a month, and the bathroom gets you a week. And Troy?" Troy nodded. "Don't be this desperate ever again or you're gonna be sitting at the nerd table, you got that?"

Troy nodded happily. He turned and, sticking that straw back in his mouth, called "Okay guys! Bring 'em in!"

The front doors of the school swung open and Chad and Zeke walked in. The entire hallway gasped and groaned when they saw the leashed pigs in their hands. The once sparkling floors now darkened as mud coated the tiles. Chad and Zeke's noses scrunched at the atrocious odor that the animals produced. Zeke and Chad handed the hogs over to Troy while Zeke irritably asked "Troy, would you mind telling me what the _hell_ you're trying to prove here again?!"

Troy just smiled and tossed the straw around with his tongue. Sending a smile in Gabriella's direction, he answered "Something I should prove more often." Gabriella turned her head to her locker to hide the blush that was quickly creeping up her face.

Troy smiled at her reaction and nervously boarded the animals, straddling the space in between the pigs. He sent Gabriella a reassuring look. Taking one last look at the confused students surrounding him, he screamed "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW!!!"

With that, the pigs squealed and took off down the hallway. The high schoolers quickly jumped out of the way while Ms. Enders, the social studies teacher, screamed as the left pig plowed right through her. She howled in pain as her butt made contact with the hard floor and her boiling coffee stain her thin white blouse.

"Sorry Ms. E!" Troy shouted over his shoulder.

"BOLTON, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!" Ms. Enders screamed back.

Troy loudly replied "Can't talk now! Gotta get around the school!"

Mr. Enders, now furious, screeched "DETENTION FOR A WEEK!!! I MEAN IT BOLTON!!!" Troy shrugged and commented "I'll be sure to get a pass!" He very faintly heard Ms. Enders groan "This school really is a zoo."

Troy laughed at his teacher's reaction to him plowing through her, but forgot about it quickly. He focused on where he was going. He quickly dodged the screaming students in his path and sent "Sorry!"s to everyone he accidentally hit. He thought _"This'll be harder than I thought."_

Troy quickly came to a corner leading to the next hallway. He pulled the pigs' leashes in the direction of the hallway and they immediately turned. "Good pigs." Troy congratulated. He looked up and noticed someone at the end of the hallway. He grinned evilly and slapped the pigs to go faster. As they approached the person, Troy stuck out his foot and made contact with the boy's sensitive spot.

"Whoops! Sorry Montez!" Troy spat playfully.

"Bastard!" Brandon barely managed to squeak. He fell to his knees and doubled over on the floor in a heap. Michael helped him to his feet and concerned "You okay?"

Brandon breathed deeply, but nodded. "I'm gonna get him back for that eventually." Brandon recollected his books and awkwardly limped down the hallway to Amy's locker. Thank God they made up the day before. They were always like that. They had a make up, break up relationship. Like many couples, they weren't sure when they were going to break up for good.

Back with Troy, he was starting to slide off of the pigs. He looked ahead of him. Darbus's room was just a few yards away. _"Almost to a month. Just need to hold on for a while longer."_ He used half of his arm strength to grab a chunk of the pig's skin and hoist himself back on the correct way. That, however, caused the pig to go faster while the other pig kept its pace.

"Woah!!!" Troy howled. His right leg was pulled forward with the faster pig on the right while the left pig was completely oblivious to it all. Troy was now modeling a split for the entire school to see.

He winced in pain as he felt his calves start to tear. "I knew I was gonna pay for this somehow." He said to himself. He carefully slapped the left pig to go faster and match the pace of the other animal. The left ran faster, but not in the way Troy expected. He saw a corner and decided to turn there while the right pig kept straight. Troy tried "No, no, no!!!" But it was too late. He let go of the right pig's leash and tried to correct the left, but the right pig ran off, leaving the right side of Troy's body falling to the ground.

"Help!" Troy tried to scream, but he had already made contact with the floor. Thinking that he just got a month of Gabriella's attention, he sighed in defeat. He knew it was too good to be true. He did, however, forget that he was still grabbing on to the remaining pig's leash.

"Oh well. All's well that ends WELL!!!" He screamed the last word as he felt himself being dragged across the floor by the crazed animal. He never thought that an animal this fat could run that fast. He felt like a little kid again on his running father's back. Only this time it was just a _little_ bit different.

"No pig! Stop pig! NOOO!!!" Troy screamed as his head came in contact with the corner locker of the third hallway. He shook his head and, although he was dizzy, he could just barely make out the sign in front of him and the pig.

"EHS Physical Education Special. For Annual Swimming Unit Only. Off Limits to Free Use."

"Oh shit." Troy exclaimed as the pig entered the pool area. The entire school, even those up on the highest floor, could hear Troy scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" After that, splash.

The students and even a few teachers, including Ms. Enders, ran into the pool area and gasped when they saw Troy at the bottom of the deep end. The pig just ran out the emergency exit.

"Oh my God! Is he okay?!"

"That stupid pig!"

"I knew this was a stupid idea!"

"Shut up Chad! At least he did it!"

"Someone just go get him before he drowns!!!"

Chad and Zeke took Gabriella's advice and took a long, deep breath. They jumped in and swam to the bottom. They swam faster and faster when they saw Troy's eyes closed. Zeke grabbed his arms while Chad groped his waist. They swam to the top in just enough time for them to breathe. They swam over to the edge and pushed Troy up to the students who had their arms outstretched.

"He's not breathing!!!" Mr. Bolton shouted, worried for the life of his son.

"He's got a heartbeat, but who knows CPR?" Mr. Collins, the health teacher, asked.

"You're a freaking HEALTH teacher! Shouldn't you know?!" Mr. Bolton screamed.

"Don't you think he'd rather have a girl do it than a male teacher Bolton?!"

Gabriella sighed in frustration and called "I know CPR! Out of my way!"

The two men moved as Gabriella positioned herself on the floor. She tipped his chin up and took two deep breaths. She leaned down and breathed the air into Troy's body. She came up for another fresh breath and leaned down again, this time breathing all of the air in her lungs into Troy. When she came up for air, Troy still wasn't breathing. She tried once more. Still nothing.

"Oh my God." Mr. Bolton whispered, covering his face with his hands.

Gabriella sighed and closed her eyes. This was her fault. Her and her big mouth. Why couldn't she have shut up and-"

She yelped in fright as Troy sat up and started coughing up water. She smiled and patted his back to help him get rid of all of the water. When he finished, he started to heave.

"Someone get me a trash can." He muttered.

Chad came rushing to him with a medium size bin. Troy nodded and grabbed the can with both hands, emptying his breakfast back into it. Gabriella, once again, patted his back top help him.

When nothing was left to bring back up, Troy asked publicly "Who saved me?"

A very wet Chad and Zeke raised their hands for a few moments before pointing to Gabriella.

Troy looked at Gabriella with confusion and asked "You kissed me?"

Gabriella shook her head with a smile and protested "Oh no. Don't even try it. I gave you _CPR_, which is different than a kiss."

"But our lips still touched." Troy grinned.

Gabriella felt a blush coming on as she rolled her eyes and answered "Whatever Troy. We kissed. But don't you dare start a rumor that we're going out or I'll have Brandon murder you."

"Don't need to." Troy smiled, noticing the students who fled the area to tell their friends what happened to Troy and Gabriella.

Gabriella sighed. Time for the rumors.

"Should've known. Now he's gonna kill both of us." Gabriella groaned.

"Don't worry. Everyone knows that Troy Bolton doesn't date decathlon members."

Gabriella smiled and out of no where, she hugged Troy. Troy, confused, hugged her back with one hand and asked "What's that for?"

"I don't know. I feel like it." Gabriella murmured into his shoulder. Troy smiled and wrapped his other arm around her. It felt good to finally be able to talk to her.

When they separated, Troy sighed "Well, I only got to Darbus's room, so I'll guess that you'll be ignoring me again in a month?"

Gabriella shook her head with a giggle. "You know what Troy? You fell into a pool and almost drowned. Plus your pigs ran off somewhere. Let's just say that you ran around the school, okay?"

Troy's face brightened. She actually forgave him enough to do that?

"Of course! So we're good?" Troy carefully asked, holding out his arms hug style.

Gabriella embraced him again and whispered "Yeah, friends."

* * *

**Yay! They're friends! Were you surprised that Troy almost died and Gabriella "kissed" him? I just randomly threw that in. I was rolling on the floor when I typed up the beginning. It's so funny! I can just see him doing that! REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: If you wanna see Brandon being not-so-nice to Gabriella, read my Christmas oneshot called "My Christmas Wish" Gabriella's bro is named Brandon in it and guess what Brandon looks like ;)**

**I have a new oneshot out. It's called "Never Let Go" I put it out 2 days ago and over a 100 people read it, it's just that no one reviewed :( Help me out and make me feel better. If no one reviews, the next chapter of this won't be a happy one...**


	12. Out of My Way

**Okay guys, I know I said I would give you a happy chapter if I got good reviews for "Never Let Go", but I'm sick. The happy section in my brain isn't working right now, so here's a sad one. Srry :(**

* * *

...Brandon...

As Brandon watched the scene in front of him unfold, he didn't know what to feel. Happiness? Of course. He worst enemy was drowning because he was stupid enough to ride pigs through the school and get flung into the school pool. Sadness? A little bit. They were once best friends until the end, which seemed to be now. Confusion? More than anything.

"This is it? This is how it ends?" Brandon asked Michael, who stood beside him.

"I guess. Wait a second. There's Mr. Collins. Maybe he can do something. Would you be happy or sad if he saved him" Michael asked Brandon curiously.

Brandon shook his head "I don't know Mike. I don't know."

In a few minutes, Brandon sighed and turned to leave, but was stopped by a familiar voice calling "I know CPR! Out of my way!" He turned and his eyes widened in horror as Gabriella crouched down and had her lips meet with Troy's. Sure, she was saving his life, but Brandon couldn't help but think the worst. What if Troy took it the wrong way when he woke up? _If_ he woke up.

Michael saw the look on Brandon's face and comforted "Don't think of it that way man. She's doing Troy a huge fav-"

But he couldn't finish. Brandon had taken off down the hallway, almost in tears. He heard Michael shouting for him behind him, which made him run faster. But Michael beat him to the door.

"Brandon, where are you going?" Michael asked, out of breath.

"Home! Now out of my way!" Brandon shouted, trying to push past his friend to get to the door.

Michael's stubbornness got to him again. "No! School hasn't started and you're running away just because she's giving him CPR?!"

"Mike, you don't understand!" Brandon exploded "Troy's gonna wake up and see that Gabriella's kissing him! He _will_ take it the wrong way! Trust me, I know him! He always jumps to conclusions! Get. Out. Of. My. Way!!!" he finished with a scream.

Michael grabbed Brandon's shoulders and shouted "Brandon, get a hold on yourself!!! This isn't like you! You're never scared of something this small!"

Brandon didn't reply. He just turned his eyes to the floor for a few moments. He then looked at the window that led to the pool and froze. Troy and Gabriella were hugging while Gabriella mouthed the word "Friends."

Brandon turned to Michael, this time letting his tears fall and whimpered "Whoever said this was small?"

With that, he effortlessly moved a limp Michael out of the way and ran to freedom. He needed time alone to think. And he knew the perfect place to go.

----

...Later That Day...

"Hey Shar, have you seen Brandon anywhere?" Gabriella asked her friend curiously.

Sharpay shook her head and replied "No, but I did see him when Chad and Zeke fished Troy out of the pool. How's he doing anyway? Is he hurt?"

Gabriella shook her head and smiled "Nah, he's fine. Still a little wet and hazy, but he's good. I'm just worried about Brandon. Was he in the room when I saved Troy?"

Sharpay nodded "Yeah, that's when I saw him. You volunteered to give CPR and that's the last I saw of him. Michael was gone too. Maybe he ran out."

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. He knows that you weren't _intentionally_ kissing Troy, so I don't know. Maybe he got sick and went home. Did you call him?"

Gabriella shook her head "No, but I texted him. He never really answers when I call him, but he always replies to texts."

"Oh, Oh well. You'll find him eventually." After that, the bell for lunch rang. "Come on," Sharpay piped up, grabbing Gabriella's hand. "Let's see if he's at lunch."

----

...At Lunch...

Gabriella looked around the room and frowned. Brandon was nowhere to be seen. She sighed sadly. Where was her brother?

"Hey Gabby!" came a familiar voice behind her. She spun around and forced a smile as a now changed and dried off Troy came walking up to her, burying her in a hug. "What's up? Why the long face?"

Gabriella muttered "I can't find Brandon. I know I shouldn't be asking _you_ this, but have you seen him?"

Troy shook his head. "He disappeared. I don't know what happened to him. Anyways, do you wanna sit with your friends or mine?"

Gabriella thought for a little bit before answering "Mine. I think you need to be a little more universal."

Troy rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. He knew that he should've been annoyed with her for making him sit with her friends instead of his, but he couldn't. Something about her was just so loveable, he couldn't say no.

"Kay, that's cool. I have to talk to Sharpay anyway." Troy said.

Gabriella groaned "Oh God, what do you have to say? 'Hey Sharpay, why'd you break up with me'?"

Troy laughed at her sarcasm. He flashed back to dreadful time in middle school that the legendary "Troypay" had ended.

**FLASHBACK (3 YEARS)**

"_Troy, why are you such an ass?!" Sharpay screamed to her boyfriend._

_Troy rolled his eyes and replied to the heated blonde "It's in my nature. My dad was this way at my age and I guess it's just genetic. Your turn." He finished a cheesy smile._

_Sharpay growled and seethed "You really need to grow up! We're not in elementary school anymore Troy! You need to take your head out of your ass and jump back to reality! We're a _couple_! You need to have more responsibility!"_

"_Oh, so now I own you?" Troy asked, raising an eyebrow "And the day I stop being myself is the day you melt."_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_I mean have you listened to your nickname in school?" Troy quarried "You're the Ice Queen to them. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You're self centered."_

"_I AM NOT!!!" Sharpay screamed "Now go get me a smoothie! I need to calm down."_

_Troy grinned and shook his head with his eyes closed. "You said way too many 'I's in those sentences. _I_ don't have to get _you_ anything. _You_ owe _me_ and apology."_

"_I owe you nothing!" Sharpay growled, stepping forward. _

_Troy shook his head again with a laugh. He finalized "You know what? You're right. I do owe you something."_

_Sharpay sighed "God, it took you long enough. Make sure to break up the frozen strawberries in the smoothie. I can't swallow them when their whole."_

"_Oh, something's breaking up, but it's not the strawberries." Troy said hotly._

"_What's that supposed to me- no." Sharpay whispered. "No, you can't be breaking up with me!"_

"_Sorry Shar," Troy shrugged "You had your chance and you blew it. Go find another sucker to treat like a dog. I'm through." With that, he walked off, leaving a sobbing Sharpay on the floor._

_Just as he was about to call Brandon, the black haired boy came waltzing up to his best friend and laughed "Dude, you've got lady issues. Sharpay's the third one this month and you've only been going out for a few days."_

"_Yeah, a few days of my life that I'll never back. And who are you to be talking? You've played the makeup, breakup game with Amy how many times again?"_

_Brandon scoffed "Game? Ha! We may have broken up a few times, but _I've_ always been the one to dump _her_!"_

_Troy grinned and joked "So this just proves that you're a cruel, cold, heartless person?"_

_Brandon rolled his eyes and replied "No, this just proves that I'm smart."_

"_Elaborate for me on that one please."_

"_Well," Brandon started "If you're like me, you'll steer clear of your Sharpay problem by staying strong and fight for what you believe in! You can't give women the advantage to control you by letting them break up with you. Never give in!" He finished with in his superhero pose, staring out into space with his curled fists by his side. Troy just laughed._

"_BRANDON!!! GET YOUR SORRY ASS OVER HERE!!!" Amy screamed from the other room._

_Brandon softened and softly called "Coming dear!" Turning to Troy, he groaned "Women..."_

"_I HEARD THAT!!!" Amy screeched._

"_I love you shnuckums!" Brandon apologized helplessly, running off to his girlfriend. Troy listened as Amy humorously screamed at Brandon about just walking off on her like that._

"_Wonder where they'll end up in 10 years..." Troy wondered out loud._

**END FLASHBACK**

Troy sighed. Sharpay took Troy's words to heart and started being the nice person that she was today. She asked Gabriella to be friends the day after they broke up and since then, they've been best friends. Gabriella introduced Sharpay to Taylor and they immediately clicked. Everything was better thanks to Troy.

Troy followed Gabriella to her friends' table and sat down. Everyone was surprised to see him there. After just a few hours of being friends, they didn't expect Troy to sit with her so quickly.

"Troy? What are you doing here?" Sharpay asked.

"What? I'm not allowed to sit here? Okay then, I'll just somewhere els-"

"No no, I didn't mean it like that!" Sharpay called after him. Troy turned around and sat back down with a smile. "Nice to see you too Sharpay."

"Same here." Sharpay replied, smiling back. This had been the first time that they had spoken since they broke up. They gave each other a smile occasionally in the hall or in the classroom, but they never actually said anything. It felt good to finally communicate again.

----

After school, Troy offered to walk Gabriella home. He was really trying to make her trust him again. It was working, but Gabriella still turned it down. Brandon might be home and Gabriella didn't want any drama to start.

Gabriella walked home and as soon as she stepped in the door, her shoulders were grabbed.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!?!" Brandon screamed in her face.

"What was what?" Gabriella replied, a little scared. She had never seen Brandon so angry before.

"WHAT WAS THAT IN THE POOL THIS MORNING?!?!" Brandon shouted back, tightening his grip on her shoulders.

"Ow! Let go of me!" Gabriella cried, trying to escape. Their mother was working late that night, so she couldn't help her.

"Not until you tell me why you KISSED HIM!!!" Brandon glared daggers into her skin.

Gabriella had no choice. She could feel his nails digging into her flesh and blood starting to form on her skin.

"I didn't kiss anybody! It was CPR!" Gabriella shrieked.

"But you hugged him afterwards! Don't lie to me Gabriella!" Brandon shot back, going a little further into her skin.

"What's wrong with you?!" Gabriella asked, starting to raise her voice. "I saved someone's life and then you _yell_ at me for it?!"

"Not if it's my worst enemy that you're now FRIENDS with!!! How could you do this to me!?!" Brandon screeched, tears starting to form in his eyes. His grip weakened as his hands started shaking.

Gabriella took this as her chance to wriggle free of Brandon's death grip. In one swift move, she slapped his hands away from her arms and glared at him.

"If I remembered right, this is _my_ life that we're talking about! Who are you to say who I can and can't be friends with?!" Gabriella shouted.

"I'm just trying to protect you!" Brandon defended "I know Troy, and he's not the one to just up and be friends with his worst enemy's sister!"

"Well he's changed! He's not the same person that he was in middle school Brandon! You need to give him a chance!" Gabriella yelled.

"No one changes that fast, especially him!" Brandon screamed "Tell him that you can't be friends with him anymore!"

"No! He's a good person and you're just too blind to see that!" Gabriella finished, lowering her voice. "You were always too blind to see that."

After that, she walked off, leaving Brandon silently crying to himself. He wasn't going to give up so easily. He might've promised himself that he would give Gabriella her freedom, but she abused it. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. When the person picked up, Brandon growled "Mike, get the gang together. Bolton's gone too far this time. Meet me at the spot tonight at 8. Don't be late."

* * *

**Wow! What's Brandon mean by that? Was he too much of a spaz in the beginning? Srry if you thought he was. I'm sick, remember? Oh well. REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: I have yet ANOTHER oneshot songfic out called "Everybody's Fool" It's a Hannah Montana fic and it's depressing. I put it out a few days ago, so thanks for the reviews :)**


	13. Thoughtless

**Hey guys! I'm getting really sick and I'm in an extremely crappy mood, so here's another chapter. But be warned! If you get woozy or sick at violance, don't read this chapter or just read it slowly and surely. If you love violance, then you've just hit the jackpot. I'm warning you. There's nothing funny or sweet that happens in this. If you know the song that the chapter's named after, you know what I mean...**

**This chapter's written in the form of a songfic. I really, really, really, REALLY wanted to use this song in this story somehow, and I finally came up with a way how! It's called "Thoughtless" by Korn :)

* * *

Thumbing through the pages of my fantasies  
Pushing all the mercy down, down, down  
I wanna see you try to take a swing at me  
Come on, gonna put you on the ground, ground, ground**

Brandon took a deep breath as he looked at his surroundings. Nothing but darkness. He couldn't even see his gloved hands in front of his face. He nodded in approval. Darkness was perfect in this situation.

He looked to his side and whispered "Ready guys?"

Drew, Mike, and Todd nodded. "You sure you wanna do this? You're kinda overreacting to us." Todd asked, feeling the nods of the boys beside him.

"I'm positive," Brandon answered firmly "I gave him one too many warnings. Now he's gonna pay the price."

Todd and Drew looked at each other, feeling their eyes on each other. Even though they couldn't see it, they could feel the worry in each other's eyes. Brandon was really going to extremes to protect Gabriella. They didn't have a good feeling about it.

"Okay..." Mike said unsurely, remembering Brandon's explanation from earlier.

**FLASHBACK (1 HOUR)**

_Brandon sneaked into Gabriella's room while she was in the shower. He looked around and caught sight of her purse. He knew it was wrong, but he grabbed it and started fishing through it, trying to find what he came in there for. He mouthed "Yes!" as he took her cell phone in his hand. He knew exactly how to work it since he was the one who bought if for her. He pushed the envelope button on the keypad and started texting..._

Meet me in da skool parking lot at 930. dont b late. dont reply 2 dis. Not allowed 2 have ma phone 4 da nite and mom will kick ma ass.

_He scrolled through her phonebook and rolled his eyes when he came to the name "Troy Boy" She already had a pet name for him and they've only been friends for 10 hours. However, he pushed the send button and carefully put the phone back in the purse, tiptoeing out of the room afterwards just as the shower water turned off._

"_Don't be late Bolton..." Brandon whispered to himself._

**END FLASHBACK**

10 minutes later, the gate to the school parking lot creaked open and Troy called out "Gabby? You here?"

"Your precious Gabby isn't here Bolton." Drew seethed, cracking his knuckles while his boys did the same.

"Drew Morph? What are you doing here? Where's Gabriella?" Troy asked in pure confusion.

"The same reason we're all here," Todd replied in Drew's tone.

"What? What is this?" Troy asked with anger in his voice. He didn't like to be tricked, especially by his worst enemy's friends.

"Something that should've been done a long time ago." A deep, threatening voice announced from behind the two boys. Brandon slowly walked out from the darkness and into the light. The three friends stood in a line, arms crossed and glaring hard at Troy, who was trying his hardest not to laugh. Brandon smirked and nodded at his two friends.

**Why are you trying to make fun of me?  
You think it's funny?  
What the fuck you think it's doing to me?  
You take your turn lashing out at me  
I want you crying with your dirty ass in front of me  
**  
"Oh my God, are you serious?!" Troy howled in between laughs. "You do know that Halloween was over a few months ago, right?"

Brandon crooned "Oh please, I would never give you candy. And this is for a very strong purpose Bolton. But that's not what we're talking about here. Now, I've given you more warnings than I should have and you completely ignored them. It's time to pay the price. But before we go through with out plans, I'm going to give you one last chance. Stay away from Gabriella and we'll stay away from you, got that?"

Todd cracked his neck and echoed "Yeah, stay away from her, got that?"

Brandon groaned "You watch too many movies. Don't do that."

"Sorry..."

Troy sighed and walked up to the male Montez. He didn't break his gaze from his eyes as he growled "I have no intention on staying away from her. I'm a big part of her life now and there's nothing you can do to stop that." Troy was so into his rant that he didn't notice Michael, Drew, and Todd slip away from the line and quietly creep behind him.

"You sure about that?" Brandon quarried, a sly grin beginning to form on his face.

"Yes I am," Troy tore his eyes away from Brandon and looked around, acknowledging the absence of the dark haired boy's friends.

"Where's those dorks you call friends?" Troy confusingly asked.

"Right here." A chorus of men asked behind Troy. He spun around and before he could do anything to defend himself, he was enthralled in a tight strangle hold.

**All of my hate cannot be found  
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming  
So you can try to tear me down  
Beat me to the ground  
I will see you screaming  
**  
"W-what...are...y-you...doing?" Troy managed to squeak.

Brandon smiled "I already told you that Troy. We're doing what we should've done a long time ago."

"Y-you...c-can't...kill...me." Troy begged, trying to loosen Michael's grip. Drew had him pushed against the wall and Todd preparing to punch him in the stomach.

"Oh we don't plan on killing you. We're just playing a little game, that's all." Brandon teased, seeing the blue shade taking over Troy's skin.

"W-what's...it...called? S-strangle...the...basketball captain?" Troy joked, having no luck in freeing himself.

"If I were you, I would save my breath. You may need it in a few min... excuse me. Seconds." Brandon grinned. He loved the feeling of being dominant. That was probably the reason that he protected Gabriella so much.

**Thumbing through the pages of my fantasies  
I'm above you, smiling at you, drown, drown, drown  
I wanna kill and rape you the way you raped me  
And I'll pull the trigger  
And you're down, down, down  
**  
Brandon gave Michael a nod. Michael smiled and threw Troy to the ground, releasing his death grip on his neck. Troy, however, started taking the deepest breaths of his life and trying to focus his now blurred vision. He was still breathing hard when he felt a sharp shooting pain in his stomach. He looked down at his middle area and found a footprint on his shirt.

**Why are you trying to make fun of me?  
You think it's funny?  
What the fuck you think it's doing to me?  
You take your turn lashing out at me **

**I want you crying with your dirty ass in front of me  
**  
"Nice one Todd." Brandon congratulated.

"Thanks. How about I step aside and let you guys try it. It's really fun." Todd teasingly offered. Troy's eyes widened. He went to sit up, but screamed in pain when he felt his stomach rip. He was sent to the ground again by someone's foot and after that, all he felt were kicks to the stomach and different blows to his head to make him dizzier than he already was. When the boys got tired, Troy flipped onto his side and started bringing his dinner back up. The dominant fighters laughed and Brandon shouted "Money would've been easier to pay, huh Bolton?"

"Burn in hell." Troy seethed through his bloody teeth.

"Sorry buddy. I've already seen hell and I've grown immune to it. It's about 5'9'' with brown hair, blue eyes, and blood all over." Brandon laughed, earning a pat on the back from Todd.

**All of my hate cannot be found  
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming  
So you can try to tear me down  
Beat me to the ground  
I will see you screaming  
**  
Troy transferred most of his hate into his eyes and glared at the boys clad in black. He couldn't explain how much he hated them right now. He refused to be beaten by these wannabe thugs. They could try all they wanted, but he would never give them the satisfaction they wanted in having Gabriella on their side. He would remain close to her no matter what and in the end, Brandon would be the one begging for mercy.

"I'm gonna get you for this." Troy muttered loud enough for them to hear. His throat burned like fire from the vomit acid.

"But Troy?" Brandon replied in a 2 year old voice "How on earth are you going to do that when you're in the hospital?"

"I'm not in the hospital, smart ass." Troy rolled his eyes.

"Yet," Todd grinned. "And don't worry. You'll have company."

"Yeah? Who?" Troy sarcastically asked.

**All my friends are gone, they died (gonna take you down)  
They all screamed, and cried (gonna take you down)  
**

"Your friends." Michael answered. "We've got the other half of our little group after them right now. You're just completely screwed, aren't you?"

Troy's eyes widened in horror. They were going after his friends?

"Leave them out of this..." Troy warned with venom filling his voice.

"Ha! What the hell can you do about it? You're only half conscious and can't even breathe right." Drew laughed.

"Not for long. Finish him off boys." Brandon commanded. He turned and laughed evilly to himself.

Todd, Michael, and Drew slowly approached Troy and got ready to finish the job, but to their surprise, Troy swung his leg in a quick motion and had them all tripped the floor in a heartbeat. He got to his feet with extreme difficulty and ran over to Brandon, who didn't hear the commotion. He howled in pain as he felt his left arm twisted behind his back.

**I've got my body, got my body back against the wall  
I've got my body, got my body back against the wall  
Gonna take you down **

I've got my body, got my body back against the wall  
I've got my body, got my body back against the wall  
Gonna take you down

I've got my body, got my body back against the wall  
I've got my body, got my body back against the...  
  
"GET OFF OF ME!!!" Brandon bellowed. 

"Don't think I can do that Montez," Troy grinned. "Now it's my turn." He tightened his grip on Brandon's flesh, taking in his screams.

"Michael! Drew! Todd! Do something!!!" Brandon begged.

"Oh sorry," A familiar voice apologized "Three of the four bastards are a little tied up at the moment." Troy turned around and smiled when he saw Chad, Zeke, and Jason gripping and controlling the three appurtenances by their arms and necks, choking them slightly.

"Guys! What are you doing here? I thought the rest of them got you." Troy wondered out loud.

"We were all at Chad's house," Jason explained. "The doorbell rang and we looked out the bedroom window and knocked them all unconscious."

Troy laughed slightly and replied "That's my boys."

He looked back at Brandon and the smile immediately slipped from his face when he saw the grin on the Montez's face.

"What are you smiling a-" Troy began, but was cut off.

"NOW!!!" Brandon shouted.

Michael, Drew, and Todd nodded and forcefully kicked their enemies in their sensitive spot. Chad, Zeke, and Jason sunk to the ground in pain, letting their trappies go.

"Guys!" Troy screamed, but couldn't finish his future sentence. Brandon used his free hand to elbow Troy in the stomach with all of his strength, taking advantage of the distraction. Having the wind knocked out of him, Troy stumbled backward and clutched his stomach tightly. That didn't last long though, for Michael, Drew, and Todd tackled him to the ground and returned to their strangle hold, this time tightening it, doubling the force. Troy's face grew blue in half the time it did last time. He tried with all of his might to release the boys' grip, but it was no use. He was trapped.

"Let...me...g-" Troy started but he didn't get the chance to finish. Brandon walked over to him and kicked him in the head hard. Troy froze and noticed the black dots filling his vision. The last thing he heard was the evil laugh of his ex best friend. The groans of his friends could barely be heard in his ears. His face paled and after that...

Darkness.

**All of my hate cannot be found  
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming  
So you can try to tear me down  
Beat me to the ground  
I will see you screaming  
All of my hate cannot be found  
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming  
So you can try to tear me down  
Beat me to the ground...**

**I will see you screaming

* * *

What'd I tell ya? Don't kill me for this, because A: I'm not in the mood and B: AniimeChiick gave me the idea! Without her, it would've been a month until the next update! I think this sickness (I don't know what it is yet) is doin sumthin 2 my creativity. Boo this sickness:( REVIEW and make me happy!! I need it! Thnx :)**

Rachel :) 


	14. Take a Better Look

**Yeah yeah, I know that I just updated yesterday, but I was having a writing rush. lol! I'm no better than I was yesterday though. Matter of fact I'm worse. But don't worry. The end of this chapter is happy and funny! The beginning replays and adds to what happened yesterday, so you don't have to go back to last chapter to review what happened. Okay, READ!!!**

* * *

"Brandon! Come on, open the door!" Gabriella shouted from outside Brandon's room. She knew he was in there. She had heard him when she was in the shower. She finally came to apologize.

Gabriella sighed in frustration and tried to open the door herself, thinking that it was locked. But to her surprise, it opened without a problem. The brunette slowly walked inside the room and looked around. He wasn't there. She sighed sadly and went back to her room, taking out her cell phone. She pressed "Created Message" and typed:

_im srry bout earlier. where r u?_

She pushed "Send Message" and waited. When the phone said that it was finished sending, she went to her outbox to make sure it was sent. She saw the top message and almost closed the phone when something caught her eye. Below the name "Brandon" was the contact "Troy Boy"

"What? I never texted Troy." Gabriella said to herself. She clicked on the message and it read:

_Meet me in da skool parking lot at 930. dont b late. dont reply 2 dis. Not allowed 2 have ma phone 4 da nite and mom will kick ma ass._

"The school parking lot? I never-" she cut herself off. After thinking about it for a few minutes, her eyes widened as Gabriella cried "No, no, no!!! Please be alright!"

----

"TROY!!! Troy, where are you?! I know you're in here!" Gabriella screamed. She frantically looked around the dark ally in search for her friend and so far, she wasn't having any luck.

"G-Gabriella?" a small voice came from the middle of the ally.

"Troy?" Gabriella hopefully called, running to the voice.

"No." Another voice followed. Gabriella, confused and a little heartbroken that it wasn't Troy, took out her phone and opened it, shining it on the voices. She gasped when she found Chad, Zeke, and Jason on the ground, bleeding and fighting for consciousness.

"Oh my God! What happened to you guys?!" Gabriella shrieked. She helped Chad to a sitting position and looked over his wounds.

"You're brother happened," Chad answered, glaring in the direction of the exit. "He and his friends ganged up on us."

"I know. He tricked Troy. Where is he anyway?" Gabriella replied, lightly touching one of Chad's cuts.

Chad slowly held up a shaky hand and pointed to a shadowy figure in the depths of the ally. Gabriella got up and walked to the silhouette, afraid to see what it was. Her mouth dropped and her heart stopped when she saw what it was.

"OH MY GOD!!! Troy, wake up!! Wake up!" Gabriella screamed, laying his bloody head in her lap. He didn't even stir.

"Jesus Christ, what happened?!" Gabriella demanded.

"Brandon texted Troy from your phone," Jason explained with a groan "Troy thought it was you, so he came. We weren't here for the beginning, but we can tell you how we knew he was here."

"Go ahead." Gabriella approved, stroking Troy's damp hair.

"Brandon sent some of his other friends over to our houses to make sure that we wouldn't interfere with this." Zeke continued "We were all at Chad's house so they all met up there when they saw we weren't home. They knocked on the door and we looked out of his bedroom window to see who it was. We knew that they were Brandon's friends so we landed a surprise attack. We beat them up until they were almost unconscious and then we asked them where the other half of their posse was. They told us and _then_ we knocked them unconscious. We got here and Troy had Brandon on the wall with his arm twisted across his back. He was already in pretty bad shape. We saw his friends about to get Troy off of Brandon, but we held them back. Brandon signaled them to kick us in our nuts and they finally grabbed Troy. They strangled him again and Brandon kicked him the head, so that's how he's unconscious. Before they left, they beat us up so that we couldn't help Troy. We wanted to help him Gabby, I swear we did, but they mostly got our legs. We can't move."

Gabriella just stared at him. That was a lot to take in, but she got it all. She couldn't believe Brandon. She had told him to stay out of her life and yet he still has the nerve to go after her friends?

"Where'd they go?" Gabriella whispered, tears building in her eyes.

"We don't know." Chad replied "I'm guessing they're out looking for their other friends. But they're sure to have gotten them by now, so I don't know where they are. He's diffidently not at your house, so don't even suggest that."

Gabriella nodded and took out her phone. She started dialing 911, but her phone went dead.

"Dammit! My battery's dead. Anyone have their phone?"

Jason nodded and tossed it over to the brunette. Gabriella called 911 and announced "Okay, an ambulance is on their way. Just hold on guys."

Chad laughed "Gabby, we're beat up, not dying."

Gabriella playfully glared at him with a smile and then looked down at Troy. His face was pale and he was barely breathing.

"Do you think I should do CPR again? He's not breathing well." Gabriella asked generally. Everyone nodded.

"Worth a shot." Jason shrugged.

Gabriella nodded and repeated her actions from earlier. She breathed all the air from her lungs into Troy 3 times before his breathing rate increased. The only problem was that he was still unconscious.

"Well he's breathing better, but he still won't wake up. What do we do?" Gabriella announced sadly.

"I say we just wait for the ambulance to get here. They'll know what to do." Zeke answered knowingly. Gabriella nodded and they all waited in silence. Jason was trying his hardest not to fall asleep while Chad, Zeke, and Gabriella stared at Troy, worrying for their best friend's life.

5 minutes later, sirens could be heard down the street. Everyone looked up and took deep breaths of relief.

"Finally. I'm cramping up." Jason groaned.

"Yeah. Everything stopped bleeding except for my leg and I'm really getting dizzy." Chad complained.

"I think those bastards busted a vein in my arm." Zeke added painfully.

Gabriella kissed Troy's bloody head and gently laid him down on the ground again. She got up and ran to the end of the ally, screaming "OVER HERE!!! WE'RE OVER HERE!!!"

The paramedics quickly ran 4 stretchers over to the frantic brunette and lifted the 4 boys onto them. There were 2 for each, except for Troy. There were 5 men and women caring for the unconscious teenager. Gabriella was called over by a middle aged man who looked like he was in charge of everything.

"Yes?" Gabriella said.

"Hello. Gabriella Montez?" Gabriella nodded.

"Well, your friends are being taken to the hospital in different ambulances. Usually you would have the choice to decide who you want to ride with, but in this case, you can't ride with Bolton. He's got too many paramedics in the ambulance already and we can't find room for you. You have the option of going with Baylor, Cross, Danforth, or find your own ride. Which one do you want?" he informed.

Gabriella pondered for a minute before answering "I'll go with Chad."

The man nodded and led her to Chad's ambulance. She climbed in to find him smiling at her, a breathing mask attached to his face. 2 paramedics were working on his still bleeding leg and 1 cleaning up his cuts the best she could. Gabriella sat in a corner and watched the sight before her unfold. She sighed and rested her head against the wall, waiting until they arrived to safety.

----

...The Hospital...

"Don't worry Gabby, they're gonna be alright." Taylor comforted, rubbing a teary Gabriella's back.

"I know Tay, but you can't help but think the worst, you know?" Gabriella replied, wiping away a stray tear.

"Yeah I know what you mean." Taylor sighed.

Gabriella had used Jason's cell phone to call Sharpay, Taylor, Kelsi, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton, Mr. and Mrs. Baylor, Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, and her mother over to the hospital. Everyone arrived at about the same time which was 10 minutes ago. They were now waiting patiently for any news.

"God, what's taking so long?!" Mrs. Bolton cried, falling into her husband's shoulder.

"Yeah, I want some news on what happened to my son!" Mrs. Baylor added.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're all fine." Mr. Danforth reassured, worried a little bit himself.

"Friends and family of Gabriella Montez?" a doctor called out.

Everyone stood up and attacked the man with questions regarding their sons. The man silenced them with his hand and explained "They're all expected to recover fully in at least 4 weeks. Chad had broken his leg and has a wound on it that just stopped bleeding because the wound was so deep. Zeke broke a vein in his arm that is sure to heal in 2 weeks. Jason has sprained his ankle and his wrist. As for Troy,"

Everyone took deep, nervous breaths. Gabriella had told them that he was the one in the worst condition.

"He has a major concussion due to a strong blow to the head. His left arm and right leg are broken, his right ankle is also sprained and he must remain on the breathing mask for the next week because he will more than likely stop breathing anytime soon. The expected heal time is about 6 weeks. You are free to see all of them now."

Everyone thanked the elderly man and turned to the rest of the group.

"I can't believe this." Taylor whispered.

"Yeah, poor Zeke." Sharpay added.

"What was that?" Gabriella and Mrs. Baylor asked at the same time.

"Uhh... nothing. I didn't say anything." Sharpay quickly covered, starting to blush.

"Mmmhmm. Somebody's got a crush on Zeke." Gabriella teased in a singsong voice.

"Shut up!" Sharpay shot back quietly, her face growing beet red.

"What? You're not alone. Everyone knows that Taylor's crazy about Chad. That's what she meant by 'I can't believe this is happening'. She meant to say 'I can't believe this is happening to Chad. I'm so madly in love with him'."

"WHAT?!" Taylor bellowed, Mr. and Mrs. Danforth staring at her with smiles on their faces. Sharpay and Kelsi just laughed.

"What are you laughing at?! You love Jason!" Taylor spat at Kelsi, who turned as red as her shirt.

"Look everyone. We all have our crushes and that's okay. And yes, I mean you too Gabby."

"What are you talking about?! Who do I like?" Gabriella asked in pure confusion.

"Oh come on. We all see the way you look at Troy." Sharpay crossed her arms.

"...!!!..."

"Don't stand there with you mouth wide open! You even liked him before you moved. That's why I hated you when I was going out with him."

"You're crazy! I do _not_ like Troy! I just started to trust him today in school!" Gabriella screeched.

"Oh please Gabby. With the looks that boy has he could draw you in in a heartbeat. That's how it is with men." Taylor grinned.

"So that's how you fell in love with Chad." Gabriella teased.

"That's not what we're talking about here!" Taylor refused, turning red. "The point is, you're talking about everyone else's crushes when you've got one of your own. One that's off limits to you."

"Why's he off limits?" Gabriella asked.

"Hello? He's your brother's worst enemy!" Kelsi answered in a "duh" tone.

Gabriella's face hardened at the mention of her brother. "He doesn't control my life. I can date whoever I want. I don't care what he says." Gabriella seethed.

"Whatever." Sharpay finalized "All I'm saying is that if you start dating Troy, you're in for a whole lot of hell, so be prepared."

Gabriella sighed. Sharpay's words clung to her like a cactus while one thought ran through her mind.

"_Do I really like Troy?"_

_

* * *

_**Yay! Almost happy chapter! lol! And what happened yesterday isn't what I meant by 'You'll hate Brandon again.'**

**HE GETS EVEN WORSE A FEW CHAPTERS LATER!!!**

**Yeah, so be prepared. REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: tarabearxoxo and Sarah590 gave me ideas for this chapter. Sarah590, now you know what ideas I used. Can't wait to read your crazy, but heartwarming review :) haha**


	15. Rise and Shine

**Okay, this is a pretty pointless chapter, but it starts up the point in the story where you'll REALLY hate Brandon. There's 2 more times in this story where you'll want to kill Joe Jonas when you see him (lol srry about that...), but don't worry. You'll live :)**

* * *

It's been 2 weeks since Brandon's attack and Gabriella now found herself living in the hospital. Chad, Zeke, and Jason went home the week before, but Troy still didn't wake up. They thankfully assured her that he wasn't in a coma. His cuts healed and his ankle seemed to be making some progress. Still with his recovery in the making, Gabriella still felt at fault.

"_Stupid, stupid me,"_ She thought to herself one afternoon. _"If only I had been doing my homework instead of taking a shower, I would've stopped this from happening. This is all my fault."_ She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. Gabriella jumped and spun around, only to meet Chad's comforting eyes.

"Don't worry Gabby," He whispered "He'll wake up."

Gabriella nodded and wrapped Chad in a hug. "I know. This is just happening too fast."

Chad nodded and sat down on the chair, the pain in his leg getting to him. "You're mother told me to tell you to go home. You've spent too much time at the hospital. She wants to see you."

Gabriella shook her head furiously and spat "Not until Troy wakes up! I'm not leaving him! He's one of my best friends!"

"Gabriella, he'll wake up eventually. You know that. You just need to get some rest. Don't you miss home?" Chad asked, his voice full of concern.

"Of course I do, but I want to be here when he finally wakes up. I won't let him to wake up alone. I want to be here." Gabriella replied stubbornly.

Chad sighed. He closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking about her words. He finally lifted his head and said "Okay, how about you go home just for tonight and you come and visit Troy 2 and a half hours a day until he wakes up. Deal?" He held out his hand.

Gabriella looked at the hand for a while before slowly shaking it, accepting "Deal."

----

...2 Days Later...

Gabriella sat in the chair, staring at the healing teenager before her. It's been 2 and a half weeks and Troy didn't even stir. He just lie there, looking lifeless. It all brought tears to Gabriella's eyes. She knew that they weren't that close yet, but she couldn't help but feel connected to him in some way. She felt as though she's known Troy forever.

She flinched when she heard someone mutter "Time to go home Gabby."

"Alright Chad," Gabriella groaned. She stood to face the bushy haired teenager and started walking out when she froze.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

Gabriella turned. Her eyes widened even more when she saw the blue eyes that she's been missing for the past 2 weeks finally opened. She screamed words of joy as she ran over to Troy and hugged him tightly, gripping his hospital gown.

"Gabriella? What are you doing?" Troy asked in confusion, but still wrapping his arms around her.

"You've been asleep for the past 2 weeks Troy! Why shouldn't I be exited?!" Gabriella cried.

"2 weeks?! Are you serious?!" Troy asked, stunned.

"Yeah. I've haven't left this room until Chad forced me! God, this is so great!" Gabriella shrieked, hugging him again, Troy doing the same.

"You haven't left?" Troy whispered. Gabriella shook her head on his shoulder. "I was so worried about you. I thought that you would never wake up."

Troy felt the room heat up at her words. He smiled at the thought of Gabriella actually wasting 2 weeks of her life just to stay with an unconscious him. His smile dropped when he realized something else that he needed to cover.

"How did I get in here? Who did this to me?" he asked, afraid of the answer that he already had a pretty good idea of.

Gabriella hesitated. Looking down at her fingers, she muttered "Brandon."

"Son of a bitch." Troy seethed lowly in between his teeth. Gabriella looked into his raging eyes and immediately looked away. She couldn't take it.

"It wasn't just him. It was Michael, Todd, and Drew. They helped him, but he knocked you out with his foot. Chad, Jason, and Zeke tried to help you, but Brandon's friends got to them first. They tried to help, but they couldn't. Ask Chad all about it. I'm gonna go call the others."

Troy nodded, the angry look still on his face. Gabriella stepped out the door and phoned her friends, hoping that things would now be back to normal.

----

4 weeks later, Troy was finally able to leave the hospital. He had to use crutches like Jason, but he didn't mind. The only thing that he would miss about walking was basketball. Other than that, he was fine.

When he walked into East High, he was bombarded with questions such as:

"Oh my God Troy! Are you okay?! He didn't do anything to your face, did he?"

"Troy! Man, what happened? Did you get hit by a truck or something?!"

"Dude! What are you doing with crutches?!"

"Bolton, don't think that this gives you an excuse to be late to my class! You're locker is right beside this room and if you're late, detention!"

"Crazy old woman..." Troy muttered to himself, struggling a bit with the crutches. Chad helped him by carrying all of his books along with his own **(He's walking with that padded shoe thingy that goes up to your knee. You know what I mean...)**. That's what Troy called a true friend.

Troy stopped by his locker and said to Chad "Thanks man. You can just drop it off here. Sorry for the hassle."

"Don't sweat it," Chad shrugged "It's the least I could do. When do you need me again?"

"Uhh... 4th period. Zeke's in my 1st and 2nd period and Brian's in my 3rd. You're free until then."

"K, see you later." Chad finalized. Troy waved and saw Zeke approaching him. He nodded and pointed to the ground. Zeke smiled. At that moment, Chad came rushing up to him. "What about 8th period? I have a doctor's appointment and none of us are in your class then."

Troy rolled his eyes. "Chad. Man, you're forgetting all the girls in that class. You know, the obsessed and clingy ones?" He gave his friend a knowing look. Chad slowly nodded and recalled "Oh yeah. Well then, on that note, I'll be off to biology. See ya."

Troy waved at his friend, shaking his head slightly. Chad could be so forgetful at times. He walked with Zeke to his homeroom when someone crept up behind him and covered his eyes with their hands.

"Guess who!" the mystery person exclaimed.

"Lemme guess," Troy noted sarcastically "She's about 5'7'', has dark brown hair, and I'm completely annoyed with her for wasting 2 weeks of her life to stay with me in a hospital." He heard the person gasp. Troy turned around and smiled "I'm just playing Gabby. You know I love that you did that."

"Ha ha, very funny." Gabriella rolled her eyes with a smile. "So, you ready to face my brother? You haven't seen him since then and he's in our homeroom."

Troy rolled his eyes. He knew that Brandon would be a problem today. He just didn't know how to deal with it yet.

"I'm ready for him," he lied. "He can't do anything because a: We're in school and the counselor is keeping a sharp eye on the people with crutches. B: I have another form of security. Jason, Zeke, and Brian are gonna stand by me 100 percent like they always have. Of course, I don't expect the same kind of protection that I got before because we're all momentarily crippled, but I'm willing to put my back into it if they are." He looked at Zeke, who nodded.

"Well, add to your security list because I'm not gonna let him lay a hand on you. I'm gonna make sure that he doesn't hurt you again. Matter of fact, I'm gonna hurt him worse than he hurt you easily."

"Gabby, you know that you can't make that promise. And since when do you hurt your brother? He's ten times stronger than you and you two are so close I came close to thinking that it was incest. No offense." Troy ended carefully.

"Non taken," Gabriella smiled "And who ever said anything about hurting him? There's a non violent way that I take care of this type of problem."

At that moment, Brandon came waltzing up to Gabby with a huge smile on his face. Troy and Zeke glared at him while Gabriella just kept talking to Troy, aware of him not paying attention.

"Hey Gabby! What's up? I haven't seen you in the past 2 weeks! Where've you been?" Brandon asked, already knowing the answer.

Gabriella didn't reply. She just kept talking to Troy, who now had a very confused look on his face. "What are you doing?" he mouthed.

Gabriella just kept on with the conversation. Brandon asked again "Hey Gabby? Hello, I'm talking to you. Can you hear me?"

Gabriella was in the middle of a sentence when she caught sight of Sharpay across the hall. "Hey Shar! Wait up! I'll talk to you later Troy." With that, she leaned up and placed a friendly kiss on Troy's cheek, leaving him and everyone else shocked. Brandon watched her speed off down the hallway with a mix of surprise, anger, and sadness within him.

"What the hell did you do to her? And what did I say about staying away from her?!" Brandon seethed, now glaring at Troy, who was just as confused as he was.

"Nothing Montez. She did that on her own. And since when do I listen to you? Now if you don't mind, I need to get to homeroom. Out of my way." Troy replied, annoyed.

"This isn't over Bolton. Next time you won't wake up to a sunny day." Brandon growled, stepping aside to let Troy out of his sight. When he was gone, his hardened face melted into a look of sorrow. Had his sister, his ultimate best friend, just give him the cold shoulder? This wasn't right. Brandon did something wrong and he needed to figure out what it was.

"_It's Troy. I know it is. She's pissed off at me because I beat up one of her best friends. When will she realize that I do this to protect her? I can't just let her allow people into her heart, especially people like Bolton. I need to get her to realize that. She needs to know."_

After having those thoughts, Brandon sighed and sulked down the hallway, his day over and ruined before it even started.

* * *

**Okay, so what do you think Gabby's doing to Brandon? You'll find out in next chapter's intro but to get there, you'll have to REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	16. Emergency

After school, Troy and Chad limped to Troy's house, Chad carrying both of their books.

"Thanks again man," Troy thanked "I feel really bad that you have to do this."

"Hey man, I'm not gonna let you get hurt worse than you already are. Isn't that what friends are for?"

Troy laughed "Yeah sure. Okay than, I can take it from here. See you later."

Chad waved and started off in the other direction. Troy turned and called "Mom! Can you come and get my books?"

Immediately, Troy heard footsteps stampede down the steps and his mother emerged from the porch. She bent down and grabbed his school books off of the ground and asked "Hey honey. How was your first day back?"

Troy shrugged. "Fine. A little crazy because people kept asking me how this happened but overall, it was pretty good." With that, the two Bolton's walked back to their house together.

"Did you see Brandon?" His mother asked carefully.

Troy sighed and nodded. "Yeah. But he didn't give me any trouble. I had Chad, Zeke, Jason, Brian, and Gabby there to keep him off my back."

"Gabriella? Isn't that Brandon's sister?" Lucy asked, confused.

"Yeah," Troy answered "She's pretty steamed at him for doing this to me. We're getting pretty close now. Did you know that she stayed with me in the hospital while I was asleep?"

Lucy laughed "Yeah. She wouldn't leave your side. We even tried to drag her out by her heels, but she kept her grip on your hand. I think she feels something for you."

"Mom!" Troy exclaimed, but blushed all the same.

Lucy suddenly asked "I bet you're wondering why Brandon's not in juvie jail, huh?"

Troy nodded "I already know. Nobody told on him."

Lucy nodded "I set up an appointment with my lawyer. You and I are going in next week."

Troy stopped short at that. He frantically turned to his mother and cried "What?! Why me?!"

Confused, Lucy answered "So that we can try and put him in jail. Don't you want to?"

Troy shook his head and replied loudly "Of course not! Why would I want to do that?!"

"Why wouldn't you?" Lucy asked, unlocking the door.

"A: His mother will bail him out and he'll probably kill me and B: I just can't. I made a promise to myself that I won't go to extremes with Brandon. Remember?"

Lucy sighed, but still nodded. "I remember. But I would still feel better if that boy was locked up somewhere."

Troy leaned against the railing and put a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Mom, there's a reason why I'm staying in this fight with Brandon. Remember the reason?"

Again, Lucy nodded. "I think it's a pretty good one too."

Troy nodded. "I just have to wait until the right time to tell him about it. I certainly can't tell him now since we hate each other so much. He won't believe me. This has gone on too long."

Lucy looked at her son with loving eyes. "You don't hate him, do you?"

Troy stared at her with a blank expression drawn across his handsome face. He looked at the ground and shook his head.

"Not at all."

----

...Gabriella...

Gabriella walked home from school feeling stalked. She rolled her eyes when she heard the leaves rustling behind her and the frustrated sighs coming from the person. Finally, the person revealed themselves by jumping in front of Gabriella suddenly.

Brandon. Just as Gabriella had predicted.

"Gabby, you haven't said a word to me the whole day. Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?" Brandon innocently asked. Gabriella didn't reply. She just pushed past him as though he wasn't even there.

"Gabriella!" Brandon called after her. "Gabriella, I know you hear me!"

Gabriella sighed quietly enough for him not to hear her. She whipped out her cell phone and dialed Sharpay's number. When she picked up, Gabriella asked "Hey Shar, wanna meet me at the mall in 5 minutes?"

"Sure! Still giving Brandon the silent treatment?" Sharpay replied knowingly.

"I love that top too!" Gabriella squealed. They had made a secret code that day for when Brandon was around. If they were talking about him trying to talk to Gabriella, Gabriella would say something positive as the yes and something negative as no.

"Okay. You gonna go back to talking to him in about a week?"

"Eww, I hate that one!" Gabriella said disgusted.

"I'll take that as a no. Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes." Gabriella walked up to her doorstep and brought out her keys quickly. She opened the door and just as Brandon was climbing the steps, Gabriella shut the door and locked it, knowing that he didn't have his keys.

"Gabriella! Gabriella, open the door! Gabriella!!!" Brandon shouted from the outside. Gabriella didn't say anything back. She just grabbed an apple and quietly crept out the back door, locking it in the process.

----

...At the Mall...

"He's stalking you now?" Sharpay asked in disbelief.

"Yup," Gabriella replied "He jumped out of the bushes and started asking me why I wasn't talking to him."

Taylor rolled her eyes "He's getting way too desperate. Why can't he just figure it out?"

Gabriella shook her head "I don't know. He was never good with stuff like this."

"So when are you gonna start talking to him again?" Sharpay asked.

"I don't know. When he finally figures it out I guess." Gabriella shrugged. The girls beside her nodded and walked into Hollister. Gabriella was looking at a light blue t-shirt when she bumped into someone. She spun around and started apologizing "Oh, I'm so sor... Troy?"

Troy looked at the person he bumped into and replied "Gabriella? What are you doing here?"

Gabriella answered "Shopping with the girls. What are you doing in the girls' section?"

Troy rolled his eyes and said "My little cousin. So what's with you ignoring Brandon?"

Gabriella smiled "I told you there was a nonviolent way to hurt him. He hates when I don't talk to him. Trust me, it's happened before. Remember the time in middle school where he was spazzing out for a week. That was an experiment I was doing."

Troy laughed at the memory. "Yeah, I remember that. That was the week of my birthday party and he crashed into the cake. Good times, good times."

"TROY!!! I WANT THIS ONE!!!" a shrill scream came from behind the two.

Troy groaned "Coming Bree. I'll see you later Gabby." Gabriella nodded and watched Troy limp off to the blonde girl. Gabriella turned around and just as she was about to walk to the cash register, she caught sight of someone that she didn't want to see.

"Oh shit!" Gabriella whispered to herself. She ran to the dressing room where Sharpay and Taylor were and called "Guys! Brandon's here!"

"What?! This is the girls' section! He can't come in here!" Sharpay cried, poking her head out from behind the wall.

"Yes he can! We came here a few years ago and he wasn't kicked out. What do we do? I can't ignore him in here!" Gabriella worriedly said.

"Hide in a stall until he leaves!" Taylor suggested. The girls slid under one small stall and jumped onto the wooden ledge to make their feet invisible.

A knock came on the door.

"It's occupied!" Taylor called, changing her voice a little just in case it was Brandon.

"Oh sorry! I'll come back later." The person apologized. Sharpay recognized the voice.

"Amy?" she called, opening the stall door just a crack.

"How do you know my... Sharpay?" Amy asked, confused.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Sharpay asked, looking around to make sure a certain boy wouldn't see her.

"I'm here shopping with Brandon. What are you doing here?" Amy replied.

"Here shopping with Gabby and Taylor."

"And you're all in a stall together... why exactly?" Amy confusingly asked.

"We're kinda hiding from your boyfriend." Taylor answered.

"Why?"

"Gabriella's teaching him a lesson and let's just say that it wouldn't be a good idea if he saw us." Sharpay replied, making the crack a little smaller due to the sight of Brandon.

"Oh yeah. He told me about that. The silent treatment, right?" Amy asked Gabriella, who nodded.

"He hates when I do this to him so I'm putting it off for as long as I can. He deserves it." Gabriella whispered.

Amy nodded "Okay. I'll text you when we're out of here. Just wait a few minutes. He's buying something." The girls nodded gratefully. As soon as Brandon was finished buying his shirt, Amy asked "Brandon sweetie, can we go to Aeropostale?"

Brandon nodded and followed Amy sadly. He had hoped that he would find Gabriella in here since it was her favorite store.

A few minutes after they left, Sharpay felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She opened it and read the text.

"_Get out now!"_

Sharpay closed the phone and announced "They're at the other end of the mall. Let's get out of here while we have the chance!"

The girls nodded and ran out of Hollister, leaving their shirts in the dressing room.

----

"God, that was close!" Taylor cried once they returned to the Montez house.

"You're telling me! I was so nervous I started getting pit stains!" Sharpay replied.

"At lease we're in a safe zone now." Gabriella reassured, crashing onto the couch in the living room.

"You spoke too soon," Taylor said with fright. "We've got company."

Sharpay and Gabriella raced to the window and gasped. Brandon was home.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Sharpay yelled.

"This is just great," Taylor groaned "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Up to my room, turn on the stereo as loud as you can!" Gabriella demanded.

The girls didn't need to be told twice as they dashed up the stairs and locked the door behind them. Gabriella heard the front door open and Brandon yell "Gabby! Are you home?"

Gabriella didn't reply. She grabbed a random CD from her collection and put it in the stereo. She flipped the play switch and turned the volume up to its fullest. The girls started dancing and singing at the top of their lungs, trying to drown out Brandon's screams.

"Gabby! Turn that down! You're going to go deaf!"

**I think we have an emergency  
I think we have an emergency  
If you thought I'd leave, then you were wrong  
Cause I won't stop holding on  
So are you listening?  
So are you watching me?  
If you thought I'd leave, then you were wrong  
Cause I won't stop holding on.  
This is an emergency  
So are you listening?  
And I can't pretend that I don't see this  
**

**It's really not your fault  
That no one cares to talk about it  
Talk about it  
**

**Cause I've seen love die  
Way too many times  
When it deserved to be alive  
I've seen you cry  
Way too many times  
When you deserve to be alive, alive  
**

**So you give up every chance you get  
Just to feel new again  
I think we have an emergency  
I think we have an emergency  
And you do your best to show me love  
but you don't know what love is  
So are you listening?  
So are you watching me?  
Well I can't pretend that I don't see this  
It's really not your fault  
That no one cares to talk about it  
Talk about it **

Cause I've seen love die  
Way too many times  
When it deserved to be alive  
I've seen you cry  
Way too many times  
When you deserve to be alive, alive

These scars, they will not fade away

No one cares to talk about it, talk about it

Cause I've seen love die  
Way too many times  
When it deserved to be alive  
I've seen you cry  
Way too many times  
When you deserve to be alive, alive 

Gabriella turned the stereo down when she felt the door slam under her feet. The 3 girls listened to the roar of Brandon's car take off down the street. They all smiled and high fived each other and collapsed on the bed, not feeling one ounce of regret.

----

...That Night...

At about 9:30, Brandon finally came home. He shoved past his mother and stormed up to his room. Gabriella cracked her door open and watched him slam his door shut and turn on his stereo. She knew that he had collapsed onto his bed, so she sneaked across the hall and slightly opened his door. Her heart broke at the sight of him. He was laying there, shaking and crying his eyes out.

"Why? Why does she have to do this to me?! I was just trying to protect her and she punishes me for it! Why Gabriella?! Why do you hate me?!" he screamed.

Gabriella could feel tears of her own building in her eyes. She closed the door, not being able to take it anymore. She slumped back to her room thinking _"Am I doing the right thing?"_

_

* * *

_**So Troy has a reason as to why he's doing this to Brandon. Find out what it is at the end of the story. REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: The song's "Emergency" by Paramore :)**


	17. Cry on Me

**K, sorry I haven't been updating, but as you can tell, this is a very long chapter. It does have a song in it, but it's only the chorus. See if you can figure out what it is before the last author's note :) You'll get a hint of incest in this chapter, but it's just brother/sister love :)**

**Note: Yeah and did I forget to mention that this is a very depressing chapter? It'll probably make you cry. Just so you know...**

* * *

It's been 2 and a half months since Troy found himself in the hospital. He thankfully got rid of his crutches one week ago. He still couldn't play basketball, but he could get around better without the extra help. The scars were finally starting to fade, but you could still tell that he was badly injured. 

He and Gabriella were getting extremely close. So close, it scared them. This didn't go unnoticed by Brandon. Every passing day, he would try to get Gabriella to talk to him or even willingly look at him, but she was just too stubborn and persistent with her plans to teach him a lesson about messing with her friends. By now, he had caught onto her little game and to be honest, he was starting to go insane. He couldn't sleep, eat, talk properly, or concentrate on his schoolwork. He claimed that he was just sick, but nobody believed him. He didn't even believe himself. But in a way, he was sick. Gabriella seemed to be his drug that he was addicted to or his oxygen that he needed to breathe everyday.

Also, he was losing his war with Troy. At least twice a day, he would walk up to Troy and just start throwing sloppy punches, kicks, claws, slaps, and anything else that he could do to hurt him. He always made sure to do it when Gabriella was around. When the two got her attention, Brandon would egg Troy on, making the captain furious so that he just hit Brandon harder. Brandon would then give up and let Troy hit him, hoping that Gabriella would defend him. But she just looked Brandon in the eye, shaking her head. When Troy would give the final punch, Gabriella would roll her eyes and walk off with Troy, making sure that he was okay. Brandon just lie there, accepting the glares and stares from the students surrounding him. The same thought ran through his mind everytime before he dropped into unconsciousness.

"_Will I ever get Gabriella back?"_

During one fight in particular, Gabriella noticed Brandon staring at her, pain and sorrow purely flashing through his beautiful eyes. After one of Troy's blows to his stomach, he mouthed "I need you."

That was the last straw. Gabriella had had enough. She took off running down the hallway, tears streaking her face. She didn't run to the bathroom. It was too far away for her mood. She found a darkened corner and sunk to the ground, pulling her knees close to her body and sobbed her heart out.

What was happening to her? Again, she was starting to forgive someone too soon. Why was she always running away from a fight that meant she would give in 2 seconds later?

No! She couldn't give into Brandon yet. He was always "protecting" her and never thinking about her feelings. She was tired of being ignored. She was now going to show him how it felt. He was going to pay. No matter how depressed he was getting.

But he was her brother. How could she neglect and technically abuse someone who's been there for her during the worst time of her life?

"Oh my God Brandon! What power do you have over me?" Gabriella cried to herself. She buried her head in her knees and sobbed to herself uncontrollably, not caring if someone heard her.

"Gabby, I'm sorry." A soft, loving voice came in front of the distressed girl. She lifted her head to reveal a beaten Troy. But he wasn't as bad as his previous fights. He was getting better at every fight he had. He was getting stronger.

"F-for what?" Gabriella stuttered, knowing exactly what he meant.

"For everything." Troy whispered, walking over to her and sitting down, rubbing her back.

"W-what about-" Gabriella tried, but Troy cut her off.

"He's unconscious now." Troy answered. "I've been looking for you for a few minutes now. I heard crying and I followed it. That's how I found you. I just wish that there was something I could do." He finished with a frown.

"You really wanna help me?" Gabriella asked, looking at him knowingly. He nodded, with a glint of hope in his eyes.

"Can I cry on you?" Gabriella whimpered, starting to tear again.

Troy stared at her for a few seconds before engulfing her in a tight, heartwarming hug. "Always Gabriella. Always."

They just sat there for the whole period, the only sound being Gabriella's sobs and Troy's comforting words. He did everything he could to calm her down without actually saying the words "Calm down." He didn't want her to feel rushed or pressured. He rocked her back and forth, whispering the most comforting words that he could think of, which seemed to help every few minutes. He would occasionally kiss her hair or her forehead, letting her know that he was still there and he cared about for her. She fisted his shirt and just cried harder into his chest.

After about 35 minutes of crying, Gabriella muttered "T-Troy? Can you do one last thing for me please?"

Troy, noticing her insecurity, kissed her forehead and replied softly "Anything."

Gabriella gave a light smile and carefully asked "C-can you sing the song you sang to my brother when our parents were fighting?"

Troy looked at the floor for a few moments, trying to remember the song. He finally grinned and hugged Gabriella as close to him as possible as he gently sang...

"**I'm holding on for you  
I'm fighting for your life  
When you're blinded by this jaded world  
I'll be your eyes  
Even if you fall  
I won't let you break  
When all the noise is telling you  
To run away  
Run to me**

That one?"

Gabriella nodded shakily through her heavy tears. Her head collapsed into his chest and he stroked her hair while asking "Why that song?"

Gabriella sniffed and looked up at her friend. She smiled and asked "You wrote it?"

Troy nodded.

Gabriella grinned and looked at the floor, staying silent for a few minutes. She looked up and finally admitted "Because Brandon still sings that all the time."

----

...Brandon...

Brandon limped down the empty hallway to the bathroom. How he could still walk, he didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to wash himself off. He rested his hands on the sinks and stared at himself in the mirror for a while. He sighed, closed his eyes, and thought back to the fight. Gabriella had run away from his love and went God knows where. Troy had saw her run and ran after her, making sure to kick Brandon's legs so that he couldn't come after them.

He shook his head as a simple tear made its way down his face. His mind then thought back to one of the moments that changed his life forever.

The promise.

**FLASHBACK (5 Years)**

"_Yo Brandon! What's up ma... oh God, what's wrong?!" Troy concerned his best friend, who was in tears._

_Brandon whimpered "Parents fighting. I can't take it anymore Troy! This is just too much! I'm too weak to get through it, so don't even say that!"_

_Troy grabbed his shoulders and scolded "Hey! Don't say that! You can fight anything! Trust me, I've seen you! You're stronger than this!"_

_Brandon viciously ripped himself away from Troy and yelled "No I'm not strong! If I was, would I be here crying like a little baby?!"_

"_Everyone cries at some point Brandon! I know I do! And I know that you're strong! You can get through this!" Troy shot back._

_Brandon raised his voice even more "Troy, you don't understand!"_

_Troy retorted "Yes I do! I've dealt with fighting parents before!"_

"_BUT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT LIKE THIS!!!" Brandon screamed, taking Troy by surprise. He backed away while his best friend shouted "No you don't understand Troy! You don't get it! This is a crisis and you don't know what the hell a crisis is! A crisis for you would be losing one of your hundreds of basketballs, but this is pure pain! You have no idea how hard it is to hear two people that were once so deeply in love call each other sluts and bastards! And then to hear Gabriella cry. That really sets me off. I can't stand to see her in pain! You know how much I love her and care for her! I've promised her for 2 and a half years that things will get better and they've only gotten worse! And you know what she's saying now?! I keep telling her that I love her and now she's saying that love is just a painful disaster waiting to happen!!!"_

_Troy grabbed Brandon and buried him in a bone crushing hug. Brandon didn't try to escape his best friend's grasp. He just hugged him back, sobbing like he was at a funeral._

_Troy rubbed his back and whispered..._

"**I'm holding on for you  
I'm fighting for your life  
When you're blinded by this jaded world  
I'll be your eyes  
Even if you fall  
I won't let you break  
When all the noise is telling you  
To run away  
Run to me"**

"_I'm losing it Troy." Brandon cried "I can't go on like this. I don't know who I am anymore."_

_Troy parted from Brandon slightly to look him in the eye. He sternly replied "No, you're just losing hope. The Brandon Montez I know wouldn't give up that easily. He would grab his support group and fight the problem face to face. He wouldn't stop attacking until he wins and is looking into the dead eyes of his issue. A relationship like you and Gabby's only comes around once in a lifetime. You can't let that slip away Brandon. You can't give your pain the satisfaction that it's begging for. You have to stand your ground, keep you head high, and keep holding on. Never let go of what you have. Just remember that you'll always have me. Brother's till the end, remember?"_

_Brandon looked into Troy's caring, brotherly eyes. They've been best friends for as long as Brandon could remember. Their bond had never come close to being broken and the thought of someone breaking them apart sent bile to his throat._

_He smiled and answered "Brothers. Nothing can break us apart."_

_Troy smiled and congratulated "That's the spirit! Good to see that I've knocked some sense into you."_

_Brandon laughed back "Yeah. Thanks man. You really are a lifesaver."_

_Troy replied "What are best friends for?"_

_After earning a smile from Brandon, Troy said "Okay, how about we get to basketball tryouts? We're already late and that wouldn't look good on our record. Come on."_

_Brandon nodded and ran with Troy to the tryouts being held at the school. When they arrived and changed, Brandon stopped Troy and asked "Hey bro. You remember the promise we made to each other when we signed up for tryouts? We don't join unless the other made the team too. One gets in and the other doesn't, we convince the coach to include the other. Remember?"_

_Troy rolled his eyes and scoffed "You actually thought I'd forget? I thought I taught you better than that!"_

_The two shared one last laugh before doing their special secret handshake. The last act of friendship that they would ever perform._

**END FLASHBACK**

Brandon ripped his eyes open and glared at his reflection.

"You lied." He seethed quietly. "Troy you lied to me."

**FLASHBACK (After basketball tryouts)**

_Brandon jogged out to the court after changing. He sighed when he thought back to all the hellish drills and exercises that they had to do. Whatever the cause, he thought that he did a pretty good job._

_He looked around at the 30 boys beside him. They all wanted the same thing and that was to surpass their obstacle of everyone else and make the team. Brandon smirked when he thought of how Troy was the best one out there. He saw the coach's mouth drop when he saw him make every single shot. No one had ever done that in years._

_Brandon looked at his best friend and expected to see him beaming like there was no tomorrow, but instead he looked like he had just seen a ghost. His face was pale and he was looking at the ground, looking like he was about to cry. His usually light blue eyes darkened into a light grey and Brandon had the feeling that something was horribly wrong._

"_Troy." He loudly whispered. Troy didn't look back at him. He just kept his eyes fixed on the ground, holding his pointer finger with his other hand. He started to lightly shake when he heard Brandon say his name._

"_Yo Troy! What's wrong? Did you get hurt?" Brandon asked, worry lining his voice. Troy didn't budge._

"_Okay boys!" The coach yelled, coming out from his office. Troy snapped his eyes shut and took a deep shaky breath. He was obviously nervous, but Brandon didn't believe he had a reason to. "I've thought this through long and hard and I've decided to choose the best players to be an East High Wildcat!"_

_The coach called off the names one by one, hearing the cheers and screams from the boys chosen. _

"_Nate Griffin!" the coach called. Nate yelled words of joy as Troy just tensed. He knew what was coming next._

"_Troy Bolton!" Brandon smiled excitingly and looked over at his best friend, who had frozen. His eyes showed panic and fear. Brandon had never been so confused. Troy just made the team. Why was he now so scared?_

"_Troy Bolton? I just called your name. You either move your butt or your spot goes to someone else." The coach annoyingly called._

_Troy shakily nodded and took baby steps toward the group of boys that were now on East High's team. He started shaking again as he tried not to cry. Brandon waved and mouthed "What's wrong?" Troy didn't reply. He just returned his gaze to the ground._

"_Chad Danforth!" Brandon's other best friend ran up to Troy and immediately asked "What's wrong dude?" Again, Troy kept his mouth shut._

"_And finally..." Brandon grinned knowingly and started walking forward._

"_Zeke Baylor!" the coach called. Brandon froze in his tracks. Zeke ran up with his best friends and cheered. As soon as Zeke's name was called, Troy closed his eyes and let out a breath, signaling that he was putting all of his power into not crying. Brandon just stared at him, his eyes wide and his mouth fallen. He didn't make the team?_

"_Thank you for all of the men who tried out. You were all fantastic, but these boys were just phenomenal. Next week, we will vote on a captain. Now, WHAT TEAM?!" the coach shouted._

"_WILDCATS!!!" the team, minus Troy, screamed._

"_WHAT TEAM?!"_

"_WILDCATS!!!"_

"_WHAT TEAM?!"_

"_WILDCATS!!!"_

"_WILDCATS!!!" the coach yelled._

"_GETCHA HEAD IN THE GAME!!!" the team screamed, cheering and running into the locker room to receive their new official jerseys. All, except Troy. He just stood there, unable to move or lift his head to meet Brandon's gaze. Everyone who didn't make it had left, leaving Troy and Brandon alone._

"_Troy." Brandon seethed lowly in between his teeth. Troy didn't reply._

"_ANSWER ME!!!" Brandon bellowed. Troy slowly, but surely, lifted his head to meet Brandon's gaze._

"_What was that?" Brandon glared, trying his best not to lose control._

"_What was what?" Troy replied quietly._

"_You're on the team and I'm not?! What about the promise?! You can talk anyone into anything! Why should the coach be any different?!" Brandon scolded, starting to tear. Troy just shrugged._

"_Oh, so now we're playing dumb?! You know exactly what I'm talking about Troy! We made a deal! We don't join the team unless the other's on it too! What happened to that?!"_

_Troy again shrugged and whispered "I don't know."_

_Brandon turned away from Troy, breathing deeply and trying not to attack him._

"_You don't know. You know damn well why you did it, now tell me!" Brandon demanded loudly._

"_I can't tell you." Troy whispered._

"_We're brothers forever Troy! You can tell me anything! We've got brotherly love-"_

"_Love's just a painful disaster waiting to happen Brandon." Troy quietly quoted, looking up at his friend. "It's just another fairytale." Brandon looked at Troy in disbelief, not believing the words that just came out of his mouth. They stood there, staring at each other, barely being able to stand each other's sorrow._

"_Troy-" Brandon started, his voice breaking, but Troy cut him off._

"_I gotta go." Troy dismissed, walking away from his best friend. He could hear Brandon's screams from behind him._

"_TROY!!! TROY, DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME!!! TROY!!!" Brandon screamed and pleaded, but nothing made a difference. Troy walked around the corner._

_His best friend was gone. Forever._

**END FLASHBACK**

Brandon let out a hot, shaky breath through his nose and seethed "You lied to me Troy."

He felt a jolt of angry energy fly through him to his fist. He raised his fist and plunged his hand into the mirror, having it shatter into millions of pieces while he screamed "YOU LIED TO ME!!!"

After feeling his skin rip from the glass, he slipped to his knees and sobbed, just like his sister.

Brandon couldn't block out one last memory from coming into his mind. Troy was once again comforting Brandon about his parents and he whispered "Just remember that I'm here and I'll always be your best friend."

Before hearing the bell for last period ring, he whimpered "How can I call you a friend when you stood me up in the end?"

* * *

**Didn't I tell you that it was sad? There's a _very_ small hint in this chapter as to why Troy's in this fight with Brandon. See if you can find it before you REVIEW. The other part to the reason is a few chapters away. If you put two and two together, you'll have Troy's reason! Okay, now REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: The song is the chorus to "Run to Me" by Nick Lachey. It's one of my favorite songs! Seriously, listen to it! It's beautiful :)**


	18. The Punch

**Okay, 2 things I wanna say about last chapter...**

**A: 1 person out of 18 got the clue right. Now I'm not gonna tell u who it is, but their name has "Zanessa" in it. So if ur nickname has Zanessa in it, then u better take a better look at ur review to last chapter.**

**B: Thank you XCrzyLkeDatX for tellin me that the last line from last chapter (How can I call you a friend when you just stood me up in the end) was from a Jonas Brother's song. I didn't realize that until you said it! It's from the song "7:05", which you can't get on iTunes. Go to Limewire and get it. I got that quote from an icon on this one website (Link in my pro) and didn't know that it was a JB song. Oppsies!**

**lol! Anyways, the beginning of this chapter is a happy one :) But then by the end of this, you'll hate the JB for a reason. Brandon does one more hell act in this story, so be prepared. You'll hate him at the end of this chapter :)**

**WARNING: This has A LOT of language in it. The "F" word's in here 3 times along with some others...**

* * *

...Troy...

Troy sat there, staring at the white board, his pencil absentmindedly thumping on his notebook. He had just gotten to class 5 minutes when it was already 20 minutes into the period. He didn't care. Gabriella was more important than some cranky old teacher.

"_Stupid, dumb fuck brother of hers!"_ Troy thought to himself angrily. _"It's his fault that she's so depressed! What the hell is his problem?!"_

By now, the teen had grown extremely impatient with the bell. He had noticed that Gabriella was deeply depressed and he needed to think of a way to cheer her up before she did something horrible to herself.

"...And the marketing industries are extremely busy at this time of year," Ms. White rambled flatly, no one really paying attention to her. "One of the most popular and inappropriate shows on Fox is releasing its new season tomorrow and every advertising station is trying to get a hold of it. How many of you are aware of the show Family Guy?"

The entire class raised their hands with smiles upon their faces, exited of the new season of their favorite show. As Troy lowered his hand, his face brightened as he whispered "That's it!"

...The Next Day...

Gabriella sighed and lightly shut her locker. Ever since that touching moment with her and Troy, she had been extremely depressed. Brandon just didn't seem to understand that she hated having to see her friends in pain. The thought just disgusted her.

"Hello Ms. Montez!" a cheery voice greeted behind Gabriella. She turned around and gave a small smile as she said "Hey Troy. Why so happy?"

"Guess what I got yesterday." Troy excitingly stated. Gabriella squinted at him suspiciously. Something was up.

"I give up. What?" Gabriella replied, hugging her books to her chest.

Troy slowly swiped something from his back and Gabriella gasped.

"You didn't!" Gabriella squealed.

"I did," Troy smiled brightly "All 6 seasons of Family Guy are in my hands right now."

"Oh my God Troy!!! That's my favorite show of all time!!" Gabriella nearly screamed, earning her strange looks from everyone around her.

"I know. It's mine too. I don't know one person who doesn't like Family Guy besides the nerds. No offense." He carefully finished.

Gabriella giggled "Non taken. Wow, I can't believe you did that! How much were all of these?"

"I already had season one and the rest are just a gift from me, so you don't need to know that." Troy smiled again.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and hugged him tightly, not aware that a certain brother of hers was watching her. Brandon just sighed and walked away from the two, not up to another fight.

"So, how about you come over after school and we can have a little Family Guy marathon?" Troy offered, sensing Brandon walking off.

"Pizza, popcorn, and soda will be provided right?" Gabriella joked.

"Hell yeah! What's a Friday night without pizza?" Troy replied back, rolling his eyes playfully. The two laughed one more time before the bell for 4th period rang.

"Kay Troy, I gotta get to science. See you after school?" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, see you then." Troy grinned, hugging her one last time.

Gabriella waved and walked off, leaving Troy to think _"Thank God she's smiling again."_

----

...Troy's House...

"Yeah Stewie!!! Kick his ass!!!!" Gabriella shouted, hearing Troy laugh beside her.

Gabriella was now at Troy's house watching and episode called "Patriot Games". Stewie was beating up Brian due to the fact that Brian didn't pay him for a bet that Stewie had won. So far, they had gotten through 1 and a half boxes of pizza, 2 bags of popcorn, and they were working on their 2nd liter of root beer. All in 5 hours.

"When's that stupid dog ever gonna learn that you should never mess with Stewie?" Troy joked, watching as the baby whacked Brian upside the head with a towel rod.

"When he learns to bark like every other normal dog." Gabriella laughed back as Stewie dragged Brian over to the toilet bowel to dunk his head.

The two burst out laughing as Stewie warned "You've got until 5 o'clock, you hear me?! 5 o'clock!"

"You're a freakin psychopath!" Brian yelled, trying his best to breathe.

"Clean yourself up." Stewie finalized, throwing the towel in Brian's face.

"Stewie's insane." Gabriella commented.

"The things you can do when you're a one year old..." Troy wondered out loud.

Gabriella nodded. She nestled further into Troy's chest and he tightened his arm around her shoulder. If someone didn't know better, they would assume that they were a couple.

"Thanks for this Troy," Gabriella suddenly said. "You really brightened my day."

"Eh, I get that a lot." Troy waved as though it was nothing. Gabriella gasped. "I'm just kidding Gabby! You know that you're welcome!"

Gabriella lightly punched him in his arm. Troy grabbed it and screamed "OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD, I THINK YOU BROKE MY ARM!!! HOLY SHIT, IT HURTS SO FRICKIN BAD!!!"

Gabriella fell back on the bed laughing at Troy's stupidness. She felt him crawling to her on the bed and tap her shoulder. As soon as she opened her eyes, he asked "What are you laughing at?"

Gabriella was about to reply, but Troy straddled her and started tickling her sides furiously. She let out screams and squeals of joy as Troy soaked it all in.

"_Wow, she's beautiful when she laughs."_ He dreamily thought. But he snapped out of his thoughts and continued to just tickle her harder. "Doesn't feel so good, does it?"

"P-please s-stop T-Troy!" Gabriella pleaded, trying to breathe.

"Beg for it." Troy teased in a whisper.

"T-TROY!!! STOP!!!" Gabriella screamed. Troy tried his best not to give in, but he just couldn't resist her pleading eyes. He drew his arms back and went to go back to his side of the bed, but he accidentally tripped and went tumbling on top of Gabriella. They both froze, staring into each other's eyes, their lips only mere centimeters apart. Before they knew it, they were both leaning in ever so slowly.

"_Oh my God, he's gonna kiss me!"_ Gabriella thought to herself, still leaning in.

"_Holy hell, it's actually happening!"_ Troy mirrored Gabriella's past action, continuing to move closer to her face.

Just as soon as their lips were about to touch...

_Even if I say it'll be alright, still I hear you say you want to end your life, now and again we try to just stay alive, maybe we'll turn it all around 'cause it's not too late, it's never too late_

Gabriella groaned as her cell phone went off. She could see a hint of disappointment in Troy's eyes and she felt the same thing in hers. She cleared her throat and said "Sorry, one second." She opened the phone and sharply seethed "WHAT?!"

"Honey, it's your mother," Mrs. Montez replied "I need you to clean the house while I'm out at a dinner. There are some very important people coming over tomorrow morning and I need the house to be in its best shape."

Gabriella groaned "Can't Brandon do it?"

"No sweetie, he's going to a party with his friends. I need you home in 10 minutes. That's when I'm leaving."

Gabriella sighed sadly. "Fine. I'll be there in 5 minutes." With that, she hung up. She turned back to Troy and announced "My mom needs me home. I'll see you later."

"Okay," Troy answered, heartbroken. "Roscoe Jenkins tomorrow?"

"Sure." Gabriella accepted with wide smile. Troy nodded and, returning her smile, led her to the door.

"Bye Troy. See you tomorrow." Gabriella dismissed, turning to leave. Troy pulled her back by her shoulder and kissed the side of her mouth.

"Bye Gabby." He whispered. Gabriella, starting to blush, turned and walked out the door to her car, mentally asking herself _"Did I just fall in love with Troy?"_

----

When Gabriella got home, she saw that no lights were on, signaling that her mother had already left. She sighed and got out her keys, opening the door and stepping inside. She turned on the lights and expected to see an untidy house, but instead, it was completely spotless. Not one stain on the carpet, not one smudge on the window, and not one spill on the counter. The floor was clean enough to eat on. Completely confused, Gabriella slowly walked into the house and looked around, trying to find something out of place, but it was perfect. Nothing was dirty or moved somewhere it shouldn't be.

"That's weird," she said to herself. "This house was a mess when I left. It would take 5 hours to clean it."

Just as she was about to head up to her room, someone threw her against the wall with their arm. She screamed and struggled to free herself from this stranger's grip, but it was no use. Their grip was too strong.

"LET ME GO YOU RAPIST!!!" Gabriella screamed, trying to bite the person.

"GABRIELLA, STOP IT!!!" a familiar voice screamed back. Gabriella froze. Brandon. He was the person holding her up against the wall?

"Brandon, what are you doing?" she seethed, her first words to him in 2 months.

"Getting answers! Now why haven't you talked to me in 2 months?!" he glared hard at her, hate filling his eyes.

"You're honestly asking that question?!" she shouted in his face.

"Don't get smart with me!" he spat right back "Tell me the reason I've been completely ignored!"

"Troy, you dumb ass! You almost killed one of my best friends and you expect me to just blow it off and let you off the hook?!" Gabriella shouted, her face growing red.

"I didn't expect you to! I thought that we could just calmly talk about this and everything would be fine, but then you go and fuck everything up! What's wrong with you?!" he screamed, is voice cracking from tears.

"Oh yeah, sure, blame it on me and get rid of your own guilt! And this wouldn't even exist if it weren't for you! You and your stupid lapse of judgment! Troy didn't talk to the coach for a reason Brandon! He wanted to-"

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUISNESS!!!" Brandon screamed "And I don't want to hear his stupid excuses! They're just a bunch of goddamn lies!"

"What just came out of your mouth was a lie!" Gabriella argued back loudly.

"You know what? Fine! Be that way! You want to destroy your life and waste your time?! I don't care! I'm done with you! Hold yourself back! But I'm telling you that your life is over!" Brandon finished, walking off.

"You think that I'm wasting my time?!" Gabriella shouted, having Brandon turn around. "You're the one who's been fighting a guy that you just gave up on and didn't hear why and how he technically saved you! You're just a selfish con artist Brandon! You're worthless!"

That did it. Brandon raised his clenched fist and forcefully slammed Gabriella's head against the wall by her nose while screaming "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!"

Gabriella fell to the ground in a heap, clutching her nose that was now gushing blood. Brandon glared down at her with the most hateful glare that he had ever given anybody. He hadn't even given Troy a glare so strong. Gabriella lie there, trembling on the floor, blood escaping the cracks in her fingers and meeting with the floor. It was then that Brandon realized what he did.

He had just hit his sister.

* * *

**Didn't I tell you that you'd hate him? There's another point in this story that you'll hate him, but that's not coming up for a while. The next clue is in here somewhere. If you caught it last chapter, you'll more than likely figure out Troy's reason :)**

**Gabriella's ringtone in this is the chorus to "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace. You've probably heard it before. I just got it for my iPod today and I've already listened to it 13 times! lol!**

**REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	19. The Move

**Okay, so the winners of the comp are Sarah590 (What happens when a certain blue eyed teen falls for his worst enemy's sister?) and heart11broken (Whoever thought that the only one he would fall in love with would be realated to the one he hated?) I couldn't tear my eyes away from those two! But I spent like 15 minutes debating over that and this summary:**

**When your best friend makes a promise and then breaks it 5 minutes later, becoming you worst enemy, what would you do? What about when you find out that he falls for your sister? Find out what Brandon Montez has to say.**

**That one was written by xPenguin4Presidentx! I absolutely loved all of the ones sent in, but that was the one that won. Okay, this is a very long chapter! It was 10 pages on Microsoft Word:)**

* * *

...Troy... 

Troy closed the door behind Gabriella with a dazed grin. He didn't plan to kiss her tonight, but he couldn't help himself. She had just fazed him so much, he had to do something affectionate.

"Oh my God, my son's a playboy!" came a sarcastic shriek behind Troy. He turned around to see his mother with her hands covering her mouth. She removed them and hugged her son tightly. "Oh sweetie!" She removed her arms and just held his forearms tightly "I think that you have feelings for her. Now tell me that I'm wrong."

Troy blushed and pulled away from his mother, walking to the window. "She's just so amazing mom. I don't know what to do."

"Go for it. You've never had this problem before. What's stopping you now?" Lucy asked, already knowing the answer.

"Answer a question for me," Troy stated "What's the last name of my ex best friend."

"Montez."

"And what's Gabriella's last name?"

"It's about to be Bolton..." Lucy muttered under her breath. Unfortunately, Troy heard her.

"Mom!!! I'm 17, not 27! You'd kill me if I proposed to a girl at this age!" Troy exclaimed, placing his hands on his mother's shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Oh please Troy. You know that you're in love with that girl." Lucy knowingly replied. Troy threw his head back and rested it against the wall.

She was right. Ever since they almost kissed, Troy felt his heart become unusually warm. He never felt that feeling before. His dad still told him stories about dates that he and Lucy had and the first time they got exceedingly close, his heart burned, but it wasn't heart burn. He had fallen in love. Deeply.

"I think you're right mom." Troy admitted, detaching himself from the wall. "She makes me feel like a real person instead of just a hot jock. She sees past that and she doesn't care about the situation with me and Brandon. I don't know mom. What if we get together? Brandon's gonna slit my throat!"

"Honey, don't say that!" Lucy said, worry lining her voice. "If Brandon cares for Gabriella as much as we think he does, he'll let her date whoever she wants to. He'll let her be happy with whoever makes her that way."

Troy smiled. "Thanks mom." He finalized, hugging her tightly. Lucy separated and smiled "Anytime. See what happens when you open up? It's not just a girl thing, is it?"

Troy laughed and was about to reply when the phone rang. Lucy excused herself and clicked Talk, answering "Hello...OH MY GOD...is anyone hurt...oh thank God...of course you can stay with us! What made you think that you couldn't...okay we'll be here...oh it's nothing. We're all family...okay bye."

"What's wrong? Who was that?" Troy asked, worried.

"That was Aunt Olivia. Her, Isabelle, and Sarah are coming to stay with us for a few months." **(Remember Uncle Sean? He gave Troy the pigs. He's from Jack's side of the family and Aunt Olivia's from Lucy's. Olivia's husband died. Just thought I'd clear that up :)**

"Huh? I'm confused. I thought that family reunions only lasted for a week or two." Troy asked.

"Someone came and burned their house down. They only managed to get a few clothes, a few pieces of jewelry, their car, and about 50 dollars from their wallets. They're looking for a place to stay and everyone is booked. We were their last option because we live so far away." Lucy explained.

"Holy crap! Who burned it down?!" Troy frantically surveyed.

"They don't know. The police are still trying to find them, but they think that it's one of Sarah's rivals at school."

"Damn, that's harsh. I mean, even if Gabriella wasn't in the picture, I wouldn't burn Brandon's house down. I don't hate him _that_ much." Troy commented.

"Troy, you know that you don't hate him at all." Lucy crossed her arms.

"I know, but that's just my cover. If I tell him the real reason, then we're both dead." Troy shuddered at the memory of the start of his reason.

"I still don't see why you won't go to the police." Lucy shook her head.

"He'll break out and come to kill all of us. You know that by now." Troy reminded her.

Lucy once more shook her head and sighed "Fine. Do what you want with him. But I still think that that man should be locked up somewhere."

"There's not a day that goes by where I don't wish that or dream of it. But the day's gonna come where we can all just forget that any of this happened. Things can go back to the way they were in middle school. Brandon and I can be best friends again. God, I can't wait until that happens!" Troy replied, longing to be friends with Brandon again.

Lucy gave her son a look "Troy, that's a lot to forget. And don't worry. Brandon will find out the truth eventually. Just keep him away from that man."

Troy nodded. "All a part of our deal mom."

At the moment, Troy's cell phone rang and he answered it. "Hello...Gabby, thank god it's you. I need to talk to you and...are you crying? What's wrong...Uh sure. Now...okay see you then."

"Gabriella?" Lucy predicted.

"Yeah. She was crying about something and denying it. Something's wrong. She wants me to meet me at the lake. I'll be back later. Bye."

Lucy waved and ushered herself upstairs to start preparing the guest rooms, wondering what was wrong with the brunette.

----

...The Montez House...

Brandon just stood there, too shocked to do anything. Had he really just punched his sister in the face purposely?

Gabriella sat against the wall in a ball, shaking and trembling, but not crying. Her eyes were squeezed shut tightly and her heavily bleeding nose was still covered by her hand. She was afraid that if she opened her eyes, Brandon would take that as an opportunity to see that she was at her weakest point. She had always been strong for him and she had no intention to stop now.

Brandon didn't know what to do. He wished that her eyes were open because that's how he always read her. Her feelings were always flashing in her eyes and Brandon would always react to it. But here, when her eyes did nothing for him, he was at a loss. He needed to know what he could do to help her without her getting angry. He needed to say something.

"G-Gabby?" he whispered. Gabriella slowly, but surely, opened her eyes to look up at her brother. Another reason that she had kept her eyes closed was to keep from crying, another sign of her weakness.

"Gabriella, please talk to me. Just say something. Anything." Brandon pleaded.

"You want me to say something?" Gabriella asked through her blood filled hand.

Brandon nodded hopefully.

Gabriella nodded too and let her hand drop along with all the blood it was storing. It splashed down her body, through her shirt, pants, and into her shoes. Most of it ended up on the carpet though.

Brandon turned away, tears building and building in his eyes. He couldn't stand to know that he did this to his sister.

He heard the clicks of a cell phone. His head snapped over to her and he exclaimed "Who are you calling?!" He hoped that it wasn't the police, although he had a strong feeling that it was.

Gabriella didn't reply. When the person finally picked up, she whimpered "Hey Troy...that's not important right now. Can you meet me at the lake? Don't worry, I won't push you in again...yeah. Bye." With that, she hung up and got to her feet with difficulty.

"Gabby, please don't meet him again." Brandon whispered.

"I'll be back in a few hours. Tell mom that I'm with Troy." Gabriella sniffed, grabbing her purse.

"Gabriella..." Brandon tried, a tear starting to fall.

"See you later Brandon." Gabriella whispered, stepping out the door.

"GABRIELLA, I'M SORRY!!!" Brandon screamed after her. But nothing made a difference. She took off running down the street and didn't look back.

Brandon slumped down to his knees and screamed out to no one. He then collapsed in a heap on the floor and sobbed like he never cried before.

"Gabby I'm sorry." He cried, barely audible. That night, he cried himself to sleep.

----

...At the Lake...

Troy sat on the bench, staring at the spot he fell in just 3 months ago. He laughed to himself. He really did deserve to be pushed into it.

He heard slowly footsteps clinking on the wood, obviously Gabriella. Troy looked up and smiled when he saw her long legs come into the light. Her head was still hidden by the darkness.

"Hey Gabby. What's up?" Troy concerned. She sounded truly petrified over the phone.

Gabriella finally brought her entire body into the light. Her pants, shirt, and face were stained with dried blood and there were still a few drops forming in her nose.

Troy froze. Gabriella didn't look up to meet his gaze just yet. She was to preoccupied choking on her tears.

She finally decided to look up. Troy's face was pale, his mouth dropped, and his eyes wide, staring at the blood. Gabriella whispered "H-hey Troy."

"Holy shit, WHAT HAPPENED?! Did you fall?!" Troy nearly screamed, rushing over to her to check out her wound.

"No, I didn't do this." Gabriella replied softly, cringing as Troy's fingers touched her probably broken nose.

"Well then who did this to y...no." he whispered, finding the answer himself. "Don't tell me it was-"

"Brandon punched me." Gabriella admitted, feeling a tear slide down her cheek.

"W-what?" Troy asked again in a seethe. He could feel himself start to shake with rage. When Gabriella didn't reply, Troy shouted "He did WHAT to you?!"

"He... he..." Gabriella tried to answer, but no words were able to form. She just broke down into sobs again. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella as tight as he could. He didn't care if he was getting blood on his shirt.

"What happened?" Troy murmured into her hair.

"W-we were fighting and he told me to shut the fuck up and punched me into the wall." Gabriella explained, sobbing.

"What happened before you called me?" Troy asked. He needed to get as much information as possible.

"He tried to get me to talk to him, but I just called you instead. He didn't want me to see you, but I ran out. I could hear him screaming for me behind me, but I just kept running." Gabriella answered.

"That damn hypocrite..." Troy glared, hate filling his eyes. If someone was to look at Gabriella wrong, Brandon would give them a piece of his mind. And here he was, punching his sister around like an abusive boyfriend.

"I don't know if it's broken or not. Would you happen to know if it is?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded and gently ordered "I'm an expert at this. Hold up your head."

Gabriella did as she was told as Troy cleared some of the blood from her nostrils. He took a look up her nose **(Sounds wrong, doesn't it:)** He then touched it very lightly and asked "Does that hurt?"

Gabriella shook her head. Troy pressed a little bit harder and asked again "How about that?"

Gabriella again shook her head. When Troy pressed a little harder, she shrieked and said "That one really hurt."

Troy nodded "Then it's not broken. It'll just take a few days to heal. At least the bleeding stopped." He could see relief pass through her eyes.

"C-can I cry on you again?" Gabriella whimpered, feeling fresh tears make their way into her eyes.

Once again, Troy engulfed her into the strongest hug possible, rocking her back and forth. It felt so right just being able to hold her in his arms. He felt complete at last.

"W-what did you want to talk to me about?" Gabriella mumbled into his chest.

"Huh?"

"Over the phone you said that you needed to talk to me about something. It sounded important. What is it?" Gabriella reminded him.

Troy smiled and slowly looked into Gabriella's eyes, wondering if he was choosing the right feeling. Her eyes right now showed pain and sadness, but behind that was so much more. It was what Troy's been looking for his entire life.

Slowly and carefully, Troy leaned in and met Gabriella's lips in a strong kiss. He felt fireworks explode inside of him and the spark he felt when he was given CPR. Gabriella seemed stiff at first, but soon collapsed into him.

He reluctantly pulled apart and rested his forehead against hers, whispering "I love you."

Gabriella's eyes shone with admiration as she lightly smiled. She didn't reply. She only tilted her head up and kissed him again, encircling his neck with her arms.

"I love you too." She said, smiling much more broadly. Troy took her hand and kissed it, muttering "Thank God."

He and Gabriella laughed and surrounded each other in their arms, Gabriella resting her head in Troy's strong chest.

"I don't wanna go home Troy," Gabriella admitted "I want to stay like this forever."

"Whoever said you were going home?" Troy replied, confused.

Gabriella, just as confused, asked "What do you mean? Where am I supposed to go?"

"I'm not gonna let you go home just to get beat up again. You're coming with me." Troy explained, holding her hands tightly.

Gabriella looked at him in shock. Was he really serious?

"You mean you want me to move in with you?" she asked astounded.

Troy nodded "Yeah. I mean, if it's okay with you."

Gabriella looked away from him at the ground. Move in with Troy? Would it really work?

"What about your parents?" Gabriella piped up. "What about my mom?"

"I don't know about your mom, but if we explained the situation to my parents, they'll be the first to take you in. I'm scared to let you go back to him. You're staying with me." Troy answered.

Gabriella smiled. He really was the sweetest boy she's ever met.

"Thanks Troy. This really means a lot to me." She smiled, getting lost in his eyes.

He kissed her nose and smiled "Anytime. One more thing. You need to keep the blood for proof that Brandon punched you. Me and my mom will help you clean it up when we get to my house, but we really need to show them that it's true. Is that okay with you?"

Gabriella nodded. When they announce that they're dating, their parents might think of it as a way to just sleep together. She needed to prove to them that she wasn't that kind of girl.

"It's fine. Let's just hurry. All this blood is starting to stain my skin." Gabriella said. She took his hand and they walked to the Bolton house together.

"What about Brandon?" Gabriella worriedly asked. "What'll happen when he finds out that we're dating?"

Troy's face darkened. His fists clenched as he seethed "You said it yourself. He doesn't control our lives. And if he tries, I'm ready for him."

Gabriella nodded and smiled at his protectiveness. The wind picked up and she started to shiver. This didn't go unnoticed by Troy as he concealed her in a warm hug. Gabriella did the same, thankful to be in Troy's protective arms.

----

...At the Bolton House...

Lucy just got finished vacuuming the second guest room. Everything was ready for their family of four. The beds had new, clean sheets on them, the room was dusted, the windows and television were dusted and shined, the closets were emptied of the Bolton's' junk, and the carpets were now stain free and vacuumed. Everything was set.

Just as she closed the door, she heard the front door open. There were two sets of footsteps coming inside the house.

"_Probably Troy coming back from the lake and Jack coming back from the store."_ Lucy thought to herself. But when she looked over the stairwell, there stood Troy holding an extremely bloody Gabriella.

"Oh my God Gabriella!!! What happened?!" Lucy shouted down the steps that she was now racing down.

Gabriella smiled at her affection. She looked over at Troy, as if asking weather she should tell her or not. Troy nodded. Lucy stood on the side, waiting for an answer.

"B-Brandon kinda... hit me." Gabriella whispered, tears starting to form again.

Lucy shrieked and brought Gabriella into a strong hug, comforting "How could he do such a thing to a sweet girl like you? Did he break your nose?"

Gabriella shook her head and replied "As far as Troy's concerned, no I didn't."

Lucy nodded and said "Come on. Let's go clean this up while you explain what happened."

While the three walked up the stairs, Gabriella replayed the events of the night with much difficulty. She came close to sobbing 4 times in just 5 minutes. Troy's face became redder with fury at every word she said. Lucy nodded and rubbed his back.

"...And then I called Troy and told him to meet me at the lake." Gabriella finished, taking a deep breath. Lucy shook her head sadly and said "How could he do that? He doesn't control your life."

"I know. I keep telling him that, but he just doesn't listen. He's just too overprotective." Gabriella agreed.

Lucy nodded. They had finally reached the bathroom and Lucy grabbed some disinfectant. She took some cotton swabs and warned "This may sting, so hold onto something."

Gabriella nodded and grabbed onto Troy's hand. He inwardly groaned, as he knew that this would be painful.

Lucy soaked the swab with the disinfectant and lightly pushed it through Gabriella's nose. As the liquid hit the gigantic cut in her nose, Gabriella groaned and squeezed Troy's hand as tightly as she could, having him wince in pain himself.

Lucy let it lie there for about a minute before she decided that it had done its job. She removed it from her left nostril and moved on to the next one. The past actions repeated and Troy felt his hand go numb from Gabriella's strong grip. But he closed his eyes and waited until it was all over.

Lucy then put two swabs up into Gabriella's nose very far. She breathed through her mouth as Troy asked "What are you doing?"

"She's stopping the bleeding." Gabriella answered, her voice completely different because of the swabs.

Troy nodded in understanding and they all waited 5 minutes before the swabs stopped turning red. Gabriella's nose had finally stopped bleeding. She did, however, have to wear a rather large band aid to help her nose heal.

"Thanks Mrs. Bolton. You really didn't have to do this." Gabriella gratefully thanked.

"Hey, don't worry about it. And you make me feel old when you call me Mrs. Bolton. Just call me Lucy." Lucy smiled with a hug.

"Okay Lucy. Thanks again." Gabriella smiled back, accepting the hug.

Troy moved forward and announced "Mom, we have something to say." He looked over at Gabriella who was blushing uncontrollably.

"What's that honey? Wait a second, do I want to sit down for this?" Lucy teased.

"Not for the first part, but maybe for the second." Troy answered. Lucy nodded "Okay then. Go ahead."

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other and automatically kissed. They stayed that way for a few moments before separating and looking over at Troy's mom. Lucy's mouth had dropped, but her eyes didn't show any surprise.

"You finally did it?" Lucy squealed.

Troy rolled his eyes, but nodded. "We're going out now."

Lucy screamed and rushed over to her son, holding him in a tight embrace. Troy hugged her back and gave Gabriella a look. After finishing with Troy, Lucy turned to Gabriella, hugging her as well.

"This is amazing! I always knew that you two would get together eventually!" Lucy smiled brightly.

Troy nodded and squeezed Gabriella's hand reassuringly. She nodded, a nervous knot forming in her stomach.

"That's not all mom. There's one more thing." Troy whispered.

"Oh God, don't say she's pregnant already! I thought you were just watching Family Guy!" Lucy exclaimed, worry flashing in her eyes.

"No! No, of course not!" Troy answered immediately. "Um, when we were at the lake and she told me what happened with her and Brandon, I... I kinda told her that she could... stay here for a while. Only to get away from Brandon. Please say that it's okay. She can't go back to that house. What if Brandon explodes again?"

Lucy silenced Troy with a hand. "Say no more. Of course Gabby can stay here. We're not evil people Troy. You should know that. I'm just concerned about where she's gonna stay. The two rooms are already booked for the next 2 months."

Gabriella's eyes widened. She turned to Troy and said "2 months? Who's staying here for two months?"

Troy explained "My aunt's house burned down, so they're staying here until they can pay for a new one." Gabriella nodded in understanding and turned back to Lucy, who had a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm... as long as he doesn't get any ideas..." she mumbled.

"What was that Mom?" Troy asked, hearing her thoughts.

"I was just thinking since I really don't want Gabriella to sleep on the couch and the guest rooms are booked, would you mind if she sleeps with you? As long as one of you don't get any ideas." Lucy replied, putting emphasis on her last sentence.

Troy shrugged "I'm fine if she is. I don't want you to feel pressured though."

Gabriella smiled "I don't feel pressured. And I'm fine with sleeping in Troy's room. Trust me, I won't let him do anything."

"Gabby! You actually thought I would?" Troy teased, but with a hint of seriousness in his voice. Gabriella just rolled her eyes.

'Then it's settled," Lucy finalized "Gabriella sleeps in Troy's room. But I swear, if I hear anything suspitious, I will make one of you sleep on the couch, understand?"

Both teens nodded. "Don't worry Lucy. I'll make sure that I won't take advantage of this." Gabriella reassured.

Lucy sighed in relief. "Do you have your stuff?"

Gabriella mentally kicked herself. She had been so caught up in having a boyfriend that she completely forgot to pack. "No I don't. But I don't wanna go back to my house alone."

Troy rubbed her back and kissed her cheek, saying "Don't worry. You can wait in the car while I go in and get your stuff. Okay? Just write a list of things you need and I'll get them."

"What about Brandon?" Lucy asked, worried.

Gabriella answered "Don't worry. I know him and he's probably in his room, crying himself to sleep. He won't hear Troy since he's pretty much the loudest crier I know."

She turned to Troy and said "But I still say that you go in through the back and out the same way. And the limb that you usually use to put your foot on the last step broke off. Just a warning. And the last branch is about to crack off. That'll make a loud noise. Got that?"

Troy laughed and kissed her forehead, replying "Don't worry. I'll be fine. And how do you know how I climb that tree?"

Gabriella giggled "You and Brandon used to always race up it when we were 8, remember? You always used that route."

Troy nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her down the stairs and shouting up "We'll be back in about a half an hour mom! If I'm not back in an hour, call the cops!"

Lucy shouted back "Will do sweetie! Be careful!"

Troy and Gabriella screamed back an "Okay." and they hopped in Troy's car, taking off to the Montez house, hoping that everything would go as planned.

* * *

**Yay! Troyella's together and Gabby's living with Troy! Wonder how that'll turn out? REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: Aunt Olivia was named after my best friend :)**


	20. Family Reunion

**I cannot TELL you how sick I am right now! When I walk, I get really dizzy and when I cough, my throat burns! Plus, my voice is really shitty right now. Idk what's goin on wit me, but I hate being sick! I barely ever get sick! Arthur's always the one to get sick!**

**Right, now time for something positive :) Okay Sarah590 and heart11broken, are you two ready for your big debut?! And don't worry heart11broken, I got ur PM and I changed ur name to Isabelle, just like you asked. But it's really obvious what Sarah590's name is :) Okay, READ:)**

* * *

...At the Montez House...

Troy and Gabriella pulled up to the Montez house with huge knots in their stomachs and both feeling very nervous, even Troy. But he couldn't show weakness. Not with Gabriella around.

"Okay, you got the list?" Troy asked, turning to her.

Gabriella nodded and handed him a piece of paper with a few items listed. "Everything's in my room the last time I checked. Just be careful. And Troy?"

Troy was about to reply, but Gabriella pulled him into a loving kiss. "I love you."

Troy smiled warmly and replied "I love you too. Okay, wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Gabriella nodded and let her head rest in the seat. She took a deep, nervous breath.

"Come back safe Troy." She prayed silently through closed eyes.

----

Troy stepped onto the tree he used to climb to Gabriella's room and studied it. Gabriella was right. He would have to change his route. He thought and thought until he finally found his new imaginary map of the tree. He placed his hand on the first branch and climbed to the next one, trying to muffle a grunt. If Brandon heard him, the cops would come rushing down the road.

Just as he reached the middle of the tree, Gabriella's door swung open, revealing Brandon, whose face was red and tear stained.

Troy froze, not knowing what to do now. He knew he had been silent, so why had Brandon come out here? He couldn't have been heard.

His question was answered a few second later when Brandon whimpered "I'm sorry Gabriella. I love you." With that, he turned to leave. Troy gave a sigh of relief, but to his disadvantage, it was too loud. Brandon froze and turned his head to the fence of the balcony. Was someone trying to break in?

Brandon was about to call "Who's there?" when he saw a piece of paper being slapped on the floor. He read the words "Gabriella's Things." and stopped. He knew exactly who it was.

Thinking that Brandon had left, Troy climbed to the top of the balcony and swung his legs over, bending over and grabbing the list he just put on the ground. He looked up and his blood came to a halt. There stood Brandon, staring at him with an empty look in his eyes. Troy was about to prepare for defense, but Brandon asked "What are you doing here?"

"Getting Gabriella's stuff. She's staying with me." Troy replied, his voice ice cold.

Expecting to see Brandon lunge at him, his eyes showed confusion when the Montez stepped to the side.

"Hurry up before I change my mind." Brandon seethed, not making eye contact with Troy, not being able to handle it.

Troy didn't move. He just stared at the young man, his eyes not showing any hate. He could see the tears lining Brandon's eyes and his jaw locking, trying not to break out into sobs.

He took a step forward and waited. Brandon didn't budge. Troy sighed and finished his trip to her room.

The whole time he was getting her clothes, tooth brush, Proactive, iPod, and laptop, Brandon just stood there, not stopping him. When Troy slung his full book bag over his shoulder and started walking out, Brandon stopped him with "Bolton!"

Troy turned around slightly, suspicious. Now, after he got all of Gabriella's stuff, he decided to fight him?

"What?" Troy replied flatly.

Brandon walked over to him and whispered through a tear "Keep her safe."

Troy didn't reply. He just lightly and almost invisibly nodded and ran down the balcony, not once looking up. In a matter of seconds, he was gone.

Brandon took a deep breath, wondering if he did the right thing in letting her stay with him. He couldn't help but ponder one thought...

"_Will she ever come back?"_

----

...Back in the Car...

Troy jumped in the seat and took a deep breath, still confused as to why Brandon just let him in. He would never do that. He must've been sick. It was impossible.

"How did it go?" Gabriella anxiously asked.

Troy kept his eyes in front of him, refusing to look at his girlfriend. He didn't know what to say.

"He just let me in." he whispered.

"He caught you?!" Gabriella gasped, worry filling her voice.

"Yeah, but he didn't try to stop me. He just... let me pass through." Troy answered, finally taking a look at her pale, yet confused face.

"What? He didn't stop you?" Gabriella asked, the worry lost and abandoned. It was all replaced with confusion.

"Yeah. I don't know why though. He would never do that. I guess he was just tired and fed up with fighting for tonight." Troy thought out loud. Running his fingers through his hair, his head fell into the headrest and he just stared at the ceiling.

"Wow. Are you sure that he didn't even try to step in front of you?" Gabriella surveyed, not believing the words that were coming out of her boyfriend's mouth.

"Nothing. He just stood there and watched me get your stuff. I don't know what's going on."

Gabriella sighed. She knew the reason. Brandon wanted her to be happy. He had punched her for absolutely no reason and he wanted her to stay away from him. And for that, she was truly grateful.

"I'll be back." She sighed, starting to open her door. She was stopped by Troy grabbing her arm. "You're not going in there, are you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"I have to do something. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll be back in about 5 minutes." She replied, getting out of the car. Troy watched her with a worried gaze, hoping that she knew what she was doing.

----

Gabriella climbed the tree with some ease, knowing Troy's route but still having to climb it. When she reached the top, she looked around, not seeing her brother, much to her relief. She walked through her room and down the hallway into her mother's room. She took out a pen and a spare piece of paper from her purse and wrote:

_Mom,_

_I'm sorry, but I have no choice. I need to take a break from this house and who's in it, if you know what I mean. Something happened while you were away and I can't deal with it at home. I hope you understand. I'll only be gone for about a week or so, and then I'll be home. I promise. Don't worry, I'm not in a different country or state. I'm still on the block. I'm not going to tell you where I am, but I assure you that I'm safe. I love you._

_Gabriella_

Just as Gabriella was about to place the note of her mother's pillow, she felt a strong hand stop her and take the note out of her hands. She looked up and felt her breath hitch in her throat. Brandon.

"Mom's never really understanding when it comes to stuff like this," he said, his voice breaking from past tears as he tore the note in two. "Don't worry. I'll cover for you. Just be sure to come back and I'm sorry."

Gabriella froze. Was he actually helping her? Or was it just a way to get her to leave and he would call her right after she left? She decided to take a chance and said "Brandon, I'm sorry it had to be like this, but I just can't do this right now. You punched me."

Even in the darkness, Gabriella could see him silently sobbing, the tears pouring down his face like a waterfall.

"I'm not complaining. When you come home from school with him on your arm, I know that I'll explode again. I just want you to be safe and I can't do that if you're with him around me. So go. I know that you'll be safe with him. He hates me, not you. I can see that he's in love with you. I know that he'll keep you safe." Brandon whispered, trying to stop his tears, but with no avail.

Gabriella stared at him. He really did care about her if he was willing to lose her and have his life change forever.

She didn't say anything else. She just leaned up and kissed his cheek with a light "Thanks." and sped out the door, not looking back.

Brandon stood there, the tears still cascading down his face. He smiled lightly and looked down at the note. He couldn't let his mother see it. He slowly tore it into shreds, feeling his heart do the same.

----

...Back at the Bolton Residence...

Troy and Gabriella walked through the door only to be met by Lucy, a smile drawn across her face.

"How'd everything go? I see that you're not bleeding anywhere." She commented.

Troy replied "Fine. He didn't catch me, so you know that everything went well."

Gabriella's head snapped towards him. What was he talking about? Was he actually lying to his mother?

"I'm relieved to hear that," Lucy answered, taking a deep breath of relief. Turning to Gabriella, she asked "Is your mother okay with this? Because you know that we can't do this without her approval."

Gabriella was about to explain when Troy piped up "She knows and she's fine with it. She understands that Gabby needs some time off and that she's scared, so she's letting her stay for about two weeks."

Gabriella's mouth dropped. Why was he lying to his mother?

"Good, good. Okay, so I have some news." Lucy beamed, happiness glowing in her eyes.

"What's that?" Troy asked, curious.

Just then, he felt someone jump on his back and shriek in his ear "TROYSIE!!!"

Troy laughed, knowing exactly who it was.

"Sarah! It's so good to see you again! Wow, you've gained some weight since the last time you jumped onto my back!" Troy joked back, hearing the 11 year old laugh in his ear.

"Yeah, I've been eating a lot more. Mom said that I should or people would think that I'm anorexic." Sarah replied.

Troy laughed. Olivia was right. Sarah was too skinny before.

"Well your mom was right. Now get down before you throw my back out. I do have to play basketball, you know." Troy laughed.

Sarah giggled as she made her way down Troy's back. Just as she was about to say something else, she noticed Gabriella standing beside him.

"Who's this?" Sarah asked.

Troy replied "This is Gabriella, my girlfriend. She's going to be spending some time with us, so this house is gonna be like a hotel, okay?"

Gabriella giggled at his comment, rolling her eyes. She waved at Sarah with a "Hey."

Sarah nodded and said "Cool. Are you sure she's not gonna be another Sharpay? I didn't like her. She was too mean and controlling."

Gabriella laughed and replied "Don't worry, I'm not like her. Besides, Sharpay changed. She's one of my best friends now. Troy knocked some sense into her when they broke up in middle school." Sarah nodded.

Troy then piped up "Okay, so where's Isabelle? I need to say hi to her."

Sarah nodded and called up the stairs "Izzy! Troy's home!"

A pair of feet automatically came bounding down the stairs and before Troy know it, he was enveloped in a very tight hug, crushing his lungs.

"Troy!!! Oh my God, I can't believe this! I haven't seen you since summer of '01!" Isabelle shrieked, not noticing Troy's blue face from lack of air.

"Good to... see you... too Izzy. Can't breathe... get off... me." Troy choked out, losing the feeling in his head.

Isabelle laughed "Sorry about that. I just can't believe that I'm looking at you right no- who's this?"

"That's Gabriella, his girlfriend." Sarah crooned, emphasizing the word 'girlfriend'.

"Oh God, not another Sharpay. You said that you would lay off girls for a while." Isabelle groaned, not noticing the annoyed look on Gabriella's face. "Why does everyone think that I'm another Sharpay?" she whispered to Troy.

"Don't worry. She's completely different than Sharpay. And Sharpay's not that bad now." Troy answered.

Isabelle gave a relieved nod. "Well," she said "We'll be staying here for a few months, so that gives us a while to catch up. Are you still fighting that ass Brandon?"

Troy and Gabriella exchanged worried glances, afraid to tell them about the current situation that was going on.

Troy answered "Uhh... about that. Did I mention that Gabriella's last name is Montez?"

Isabelle and Sarah's mouths dropped to the ground, trying to take in Troy's words.

"T-this is Brandon's s-sister?" Sarah stuttered, pointing to a very red Gabriella, who was looking at the floor.

"Yup." Troy nodded.

"What the hell Troy?! Does Brandon know about this?!" Isabelle loudly asked.

Troy again nodded "Yeah, and he's fine with it."

"He wouldn't do that! Something's up." Sarah thought out loud.

"Yeah, something did happen, but we'll tell you later. The important thing is who burned down your house. Who do you think it is?" Troy replied.

Sarah's face darkened as she seethed "Marissa. She hates me and I think she's jealous of me because I have more friends than she did. I can't believe that she burned my house down."

Gabriella added "I doubt that she did it herself. I think she got someone else to do it for her. I don't think that she would risk going to jail unless she's stupid enough to do that."

Sarah nodded "I think that she got her cousin Brick to do it. He's like 250 pounds of muscle and he's a real butt hole. He's been in jail like 5 times and I don't think he'd care if he was in again."

Troy shook his head. He couldn't believe that a little 11 year old girl would get her cousin to burn down someone's house. But he heard of Brick before and he had a bad feeling about him the second he saw him.

"That's a damn shame. I may be fighting Brandon, but I would never burn his house down." Troy commented.

Isabelle said "Yeah, because it's your girlfriend's house too! Duh!"

Troy and Gabriella laughed while Troy replied "Yeah that too, but I don't think burning his house down would solve anything. It would just make things worse."

Sarah was about to say something when a shriek came from behind the crowd.

"TROY!!!" A woman screamed, rushing over to the teenager. Troy smiled as his Aunt Olivia came running over to him and surrounded him in her arms. Troy greeted "Hey Aunt O! How've you been?"

Olivia replied "I've been better, but I'm fine now that you're here. I haven't seen you in how long? Summer of '01?"

Troy nodded "Something like that. I can't believe your house got burned down."

Olivia sighed sadly and answered "Yeah, me neither. We think that it's that Marissa girl who doesn't like Sarah. I never thought that she hated her that much though. Sarah's been blaming herself for it since it's her enemy." At that, Sarah looked at the floor and tried to not cry.

Troy knelt down and gathered Sarah in a tight hug, whispering comforting words in her ear. Sarah just broke down and cried "It's all my fault! I never should have told her how many friends I have! She barely has any!"

Troy rubbed her back and looked over at Isabelle, mouthing "Help me!"

Isabelle nodded and took Sarah from Troy's arms, saying "Come on Sarah. Let's finish getting settled, then we can meet back up with Troy, okay?"

Sarah nodded, wiping some tears away from her eyes. "Sorry. I just can't stop blaming myself for this. Me and my stupid big mouth!"

Gabriella sat beside Sarah and whispered "Don't worry. It wasn't your fault. Marissa was just being really immature about it and decided to do something stupid. Sharpay has more friends than I do and we're still best friends. I have a boyfriend and she doesn't, but she doesn't care."

Sarah smiled and absentmindedly hugged Gabriella, joking "You're diffidently not another old Sharpay."

Gabriella hugged her back and looked up at Troy for approval. He gave her 2 thumbs up and smiled widely.

"Wow. 5 minutes and they're already bonding." Isabelle whispered to Troy.

Troy nodded and whispered back "Gabriella has that trait in her. She's friendly with almost everyone."

Isabelle grinned "Thank God your taste in girls is improving."

Troy rolled his eyes with a smile and lightly pushed Isabelle by her shoulder. She laughed and said "Hey, are you sure that Sharpay's changed? I'd like to see some proof."

Troy nodded "Don't worry, I'm sure that she'll be over here tomorrow. They always go to each other's houses and once she finds out that she's not there-"

Suddenly, the door burst open and in stomped a very angry looking Sharpay.

"GABRIELLA ANNE MONTEZ!!!"

Troy groaned. He had expected this.

"Sharpay? What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked, confused.

Sharpay ran over to Gabriella and grabbed her by the collar, screaming "YOU MOVED OUT?!"

Gabriella smiled sheepishly and whispered "Surprise."

Sharpay seethed "What the hell were you thinking?! Just because you just got together with Troy doesn't mean that you can just move in with him! Whose idea was this?! Cause if it was Troy, than I swear, I'll-"

"Brandon punched me." Gabriella simply interrupted, having Sharpay turn toward her.

"What?"

"Brandon punched me. We were having a fight about Troy and he punched me. I was scared to live there anymore because Troy and I are together and he even said that he was going to blow a gasket when he saw us arm in arm." Gabriella explained.

Sharpay's mouth was now agape, her eyes wide. She let go of Gabriella's shirt and whispered "He did _what_?"

"He hit me. He hit his little sister." Gabriella answered.

Sharpay's face now became red with rage as she seethed "I'm gonna kill that little punk ass! How dare he even lay a hand on you! I can't believe him!"

Gabriella soothed "Shar, calm down!I'm going back in about 2 weeks and we can just forget about all of this. Brandon needs some time to get used to it and he can't do that if I'm constantly with Troy around him! So just chill out and go with the flow, alright?" She leaned in closer to the furious blonde and whispered "And whatever you do, don't tell my mom about this. She doesn't know and we're trying to keep it that way."

Sharpay took a deep and angry breath, trying to calm down. She couldn't believe that Brandon would do that to someone that he loved so much. Whether he had lost control or not, he still shouldn't have done it.

"Fine. I won't say anything. But I swear, if he comes within 5 feet of you, I'll kill him with Troy's help."

Troy shook his head and replied "No way! I'm done fighting him for 2 weeks! You can find someone else to help you, like Chad. He'll be sure to help."

Sharpay rolled her eyes and turned back to Gabriella, saying "Kay, so what are you gonna do? It's gonna be really awkward when you go back, so you need to talk to him sometime. You do realize that, don't you?"

Gabriella nodded and answered "Yeah, but I plan on doing it sometime next week. I just need a really big break from him. So don't go off killing him, okay?"

Sharpay reluctantly nodded and turned on her heel, walking out the door to her car and speeding down the street.

"Wow. She really has changed." Sarah commented, astonished.

"Yeah. What did you do to her Troy?" Isabelle added, just as confused.

"Nothing really," Troy answered "I just told her about her nickname, The Ice Queen and how self centered she was being."

"All a part of the Bolton Charm." Isabelle teased, giving Troy a high five.

Troy smiled back "Yeah, I think we all have it. Anyway, I'm tired. I got a girlfriend, my girlfriend technically moved in with me, and my enemy just let me in his house without protesting. You would be tired too, even if it is just 8:30, so don't call me a sissy."

Isabelle and Sarah nodded while Sarah said "Night Troy. Night Gabriella." With that, the 11 year old turned and went up the stairs to her new room.

Troy hugged Isabelle and led Gabriella to his room, which she was already familiar with. She collapsed on the bed and automatically felt her body start to shut down. In a matter of minutes, she was fast asleep.

After showering, Troy walked into his room to find Gabriella curled up on the bed with her eyes closed. He smiled, knowing that she was asleep. He crawled into the bed beside her and kissed her forehead, whispering "You're safe with me Gabby. I promise."

* * *

**Yay! I bet Sarah590 and heart11broken are feeling very happy right now! If not, srry. Are u surprised that Brandon just let Troy in his house to help Gabriella stay with Troy for 2 weeks? I was when I typed it up :)**

**Extra**

**K, I know that this is kinda weird, but I know that I'll forget if I don't do it now. This is the trivia for previous chapters and from the oral story. It's stuff that I changed or stuff that didn't make it into the story :)**

**- Brandon was supposed to be the head of the hip hop dancing team, but I decided against it**

**- Brandon was only supposed to slap Gabriella, not punch her and make her bleed heavily**

**- (Chapter 11, Wild Hogs) Troy was never schedualed to crash into the pool. He was only supposed to fall at Darbus's room**

**- I never planned the "Thoughtless" chapter. But that filled the hole in the story and cured my writer's block**

**- Gabriella was supposed to become friends with Troy the first day she arrived at East High, but the story would be way too short then**

**- I love Evanescence. Their lead singer is Amy Lee. Brandon's girlfriend Amy is not named after Amy Lee. I wasn't thinking of Amy Lee when Amy first popped up in the story**

**- Brandon was never planned to have a girlfriend**

**- You were never supposed to hear of Amy after Brandon shot the spitball in her mouth. They were supposed to break up for good**

**- The silent treatment was never planned. Brandon was supposed to get mad because Gabriella was friends with Troy**

**- Troy wasn't supposed to kiss Gabriella at the doorway. I just couldn't help myself :)**

**- The first scene in the trailer never happens**

**- This story was planned in a Wal-Mart parking lot**

**- Joe Jonas wasn't planned to "play" Brandon. I was just going to say how much Gabby and Brandon looked alike, but then I started reading a magazine and I noticed how much the two look alike so I was just like "Hmm..."**

**- (This Chapter) Brandon was supposed to talk to Gabriella in her room when she was leaving. He was supposed to go back to his mom's room and find the note and rip it up**

**- Sharpay was supposed to yell at Gabriella in the beginning of next chapter**

**Okay, so there it is. I'll probably be doing this at the end of every chapter if there is some trivia. Right, now REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	21. Fun With the Family

**Okay, so you'll probably be pissed off at me by the end of this chapter because nothing really happens, but hopefully the humor will make up for it. It's mostly about everyone bonding and stuff :)**

**I don't own the movie Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, which I saw today :), Myspace, or the line "I only had soup, I don't see why we should split the bill evenly." That one's by Stewie from Family Guy :)**

* * *

The next morning, Gabriella woke up in a bed that wasn't her own. She looked around and discovered that there were basketballs everywhere. On top of that, her entire head ached with pain, mainly her nose. Confused as hell, she tried to get up, but found that she couldn't. Someone had their arms around her. She looked to her left and smiled, having it all come back to her. Troy lie there, shirtless and sleeping like a baby with a small smile drawn across his face. She stroked his cheek and planted a kiss on his nose, having him wriggle a little and turn onto his side to face her, grumbling something to himself. Gabriella giggled to herself as she watched him talk to himself unconsciously.

"Mmm, I'm not paying the bill. It's your turn."

Gabriella silently howled in laughter as her boyfriend continued with his "conversation"

"I don't care how much I love you Gabby, I'm not paying half of it. Besides, I only had soup, so I don't see why we should split the bill evenly."

Gabriella was sure that she was explode if she heard anymore, so she lightly shook Troy and said "Troy, wake up."

"You had a full course meal and the chicken noodle was half the 40 dollar bill? Oh, now I see your point..."

"TROY!!!" Gabriella half shouted, causing him to shoot up like a rocket screaming "I DEMAND A DISCOUNT!!!"

That did it. Gabriella was now on her back laughing with tears streaming down her face. Troy stared at her, confused. "What the-"

Suddenly, a very frightened 17 year old came crashing through the door with Sarah, who was still half asleep.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHAT HAPPENED TO TROY?!" Isabelle screamed, barely noticing Sarah falling to the floor and falling asleep again. Gabriella recollected herself and reassured "No, no! Troy's fine. He was just talking to himself and I was trying to wake him up."

Isabelle took a giant breath of relief and sighed "Oh thank God! Alright, sorry to bother you. We'll just be leaving now. Come on Sarah... Sarah?" Confused at the disappearance of her little sister, Isabelle heard a very tiny snore on the floor. She smiled as she watched Sarah curled up on the carpet, mumbling random things.

"Well, what do you know," Isabelle joked "I guess talking in your sleep runs in the family."

Sarah moaned "No mom, I hate tuna."

The three teenagers laughed as the 11 year old girl continued "I don't care if it's good for you. It's nasty and I'm not eating it!"

Isabelle grabbed Sarah's hands and tried to hoist her to her feet, but with no success.

"No, no! No, somebody save me from the EVIL TUNA!!!" Sarah briskly finished in a scream. Isabelle lightly pinched Sarah's cheek and whispered "Sarah, wake up."

Sarah quickly opened her frantic eyes and yelled "TUNA!!! EVIL TUNA!!!"

Isabelle rolled her eyes and led Sarah out of the room, saying "Don't worry. The evil tuna's taking a vacation."

Gabriella laughed as the two exited the room and closed the door, turning to Troy, commenting "Well, what a comical way to start a morning, huh?"

Troy laughed and motioned for her to come back to the bed. Gabriella followed orders and hopped back into the warm sheets, falling into Troy's bare arms. They snuggled for a few minutes in a comfortable silence until Gabriella joked "So what crazy restaurant would charge 20 bucks for a puny bowl of soup?"

Troy rolled his eyes with his million dollar smile and replied "Stop. I tend to talk to myself when I'm in the presence of a beautiful woman."

Gabriella blushed furiously and replied with a hard, passionate kiss on his lips, which turned into a full blown make out session. For a full 15 minutes, the two lovers rolled around on the bed innocently, playing tonsil hockey and hoping that no one heard them. Finally, there came a knock on the door and a call "Hey guys! Breakfast is ready! Hurry up!" With that, Sarah walked away.

Troy and Gabriella groaned and pulled their sweaty bodies out of the bed and changed into their day clothes, smiling at each other the whole time. Troy opened the door for Gabriella while shrugging "Eh, it was nice while it lasted."

----

...After Breakfast...

After everyone had finished their chocolate chip pancakes, Troy and Gabriella got ready to leave for the movies.

"By mom and dad!" Troy called up the stairs. "We'll be back in a few hours!"

Jack came bounding down the stairs asking "Where are you going?"

"The movies. We're seeing Roscoe Jenkins." Gabriella answered.

"Oh, Izzy and Sarah have wanted to see that for weeks. How about you take them? It could give them an opportunity to know the town better."

Troy gave Gabriella a look saying "Should we?" Gabriella just shrugged.

Troy nodded and walked into the living room. He saw Isabelle and Sarah sitting on the couch watching T.V. He sat on the arm rest and said "Hello ladies. Me and Gabby are going to see Roscoe Jenkins in a few minutes. Wanna tag along?"

Isabelle and Sarah's heads snapped towards the wondering teenager with extra wide eyes. Sarah loudly said "I'll be back in 2 minutes!" Isabelle added "Same here!"

Troy just laughed shortly to himself, knowing that Sarah would keep her word on being 2 minutes, but Isabelle would probably take 10.

But to his surprise, Isabelle came bounding down the steps in less than 1 minute, dressed and ready to go. Sarah came soon after.

"Wow. You surprised me Izzy." Troy commented.

"How?"

"I thought that you'd take 50 hours getting ready." Troy smiled cheekily while Isabelle just slapped his chest, saying "Let's get going. Gabriella's waiting for us."

Troy nodded and walked over to his girlfriend, slinging his arm over her shoulder and calling "We're leaving now! Bye guys!"

Before they left, Olivia ran down the steps and shouted "Wait! Izzy, Sarah, you need be back by 5!"

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, you'll see. See you later." Olivia finished, walking back up the stairs.

Isabelle and Sarah gave each other confused glances, but shrugged and followed their cousin out the door and into his car.

----

When the 4 arrived at the movie theater, they walked up to the front doors talking about the movie trailer.

"I just hope that it's not like those other movies where they show all the funny moments in the trailer and then when you go see the movie, those are the only funny moments in it."

Isabelle nodded "Yeah, don't you hate when that happens?"

Sarah agreed "Remember when you stormed out of the theater and screamed 'I DEMAND A REFUND'!!!"

Isabelle laughed at the memory. Her and Sarah had to run out to the car to escape security.

"Yeah, I bet they're still looking for us."

When they opened the doors, Gabriella froze, having her face pale and Sarah run into her.

"Gabby what's wro-" Sarah tried after picking herself up off the floor.

"Troy, hide me!" Gabriella quickly demanded, running behind her boyfriend.

"Why, what's wro-"

"Look at the second ticket booth! Who's at the front?" Gabriella replied.

Troy looked for a while before his face darkened. There they were, buying their tickets. Amy hanging off of Brandon's arm and holding the money for popcorn.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." Troy grumbled.

"Who's that?" Isabelle asked, standing beside Troy to help hide Gabriella for the reason that she was clueless to.

"Montez..." Troy growled as a reply. Isabelle's eyes widened as she yelled "That's BRANDON?!"

Troy and Gabriella's eyes automatically widened as they grabbed each other's hand and ran into the crowd on the opposite side of the room, hiding their faces and keeping their backs toward Brandon. Gabriella pulled her sweater up over her face more and Troy pretended that he had a headache, putting his hand over his eyes and most of his face.

Brandon and Amy spun around at the mention of Brandon's name, confused. Brandon shrugged and turned back around to finish paying for the tickets. Troy and Gabriella took giant sighs of relief as they walked back over to the two sisters. Troy glared at Isabelle and scolded "Izzy. Sometimes you really need to learn how to just...shut...up!"

Isabelle rolled her eyes and replied "Whatever. Let's just go get the tickets without him noticing us."

Troy shook his head and said "Oh I don't care if he sees us or not. Matter of face, I plan on making a scene."

"Troy..." Gabriella warned.

"Don't worry Gabby. I won't cause any damage." Troy reassured, grabbing Isabelle and Sarah and walking over towards the second booth. Skipping past everyone else, he pushed Brandon out of the way with "Sorry Ms. You're taking too long."

Brandon glared at Troy and seethed "Bolton, what the hell do think you're-"

"Getting my tickets, now shut up will you?!" Troy interrupted.

Brandon prepared to lunge at him, but Amy held him back and Isabelle and Sarah stood in the way, glaring at him. In a huff, the Montez walked over to the first booth. Just as he was about to get in line, he caught sight of someone that he missed more than anything. Gabriella and Brandon locked eyes for a split second before Sarah grabbed the brunette and pulled her over to the concession stand to get their popcorn and sodas. Brandon sighed sadly and turned back to Amy, trying to hold back his tears.

----

After getting 3 large sodas, 4 extra large popcorn bags, 2 large bags of skittles, 3 king size Recess cups, and a cherry slushy, the 4 teens made their way inside the movie room and sat down at the front. Isabelle sat on the end with Troy next to her, who was sitting next to Gabriella. Sarah sat on the other end next to Gabriella.

"Whoo, I'm so glad that we got away from Brandon." Gabriella sighed, having her head fall into Troy's chest. Troy slung an arm around her and whispered "Don't worry. He's gone now. I don't even think he's coming to see this movie."

"Well think again," Sarah piped up worriedly. "We've got company."

Troy, Gabriella, and Isabelle spun around and froze when they saw Brandon and Amy walking into the theater. Troy's mouth dropped, having a mouthful of popcorn land on the floor behind him.

"Brandon, can't we sit in the back? You know, where we can get a little... privacy?" Amy seductively asked.

Brandon secretly switched his eyes to the front, having them land on the 4 teenagers that he met up with just a few minutes ago. His main focus was Gabriella.

Grinning evilly, the black haired teen answered loudly enough for Troy and Gabriella to hear "No, I think that we would be better off in the front."

Troy, Gabriella, Isabelle, and Sarah immediately turned around, covering their faces with a hand.

"Dammit. This can't go well." Isabelle cursed.

"Maybe we should move to the back..." Sarah suggested.

"No, no we're perfectly fine up here. Just ignore him." Troy stopped her, taking another reach for his popcorn as Brandon sat behind the clan.

"Yeah. That, and slouch!" Gabriella hissed. Everyone followed her actions and moved their bodies down so that their heads were down to the middle of the chair.

When the movie finally began, Troy got an idea. He grinned and took a handful of popcorn, acting like he was about to put it in his mouth, but in stead, he launched it behind him, hearing it smack Brandon in the face.

"Dude, what the hell?!" Brandon screeched.

Troy turned around slightly and loudly whispered "Oops sorry! Missed my mouth."

After seeing the glare from Brandon, he turned back to his original position and heard his cousins and girlfriend snicker beside him. Isabelle gave him a high five and laughed "Nice one."

Troy smiled with a nod and said "Okay, no more pranks. Watch the movie."

----

Halfway through the movie, Troy felt a splatter on his shoulder. "What the fu-" He spun around, only to find Brandon laughing hysterically. "What the hell Montez?!" Troy spat.

"Oops sorry! Missed the cup holder." He replied, trying not to laugh again. Amy sat beside him roller her eyes.

Troy stuck up both of his middle fingers and seethed "Shove 'em up your ass!"

That set off the three girls sitting beside him. They burst out into a medium loud laughter, disturbing the others in the theater.

"Hey! Shut up down there!"

"Take your crap outside! We don't need while we're watching a movie!"

"Excuse me! I paid nine dollars to see this movie!"

"I didn't pay to listen to you girls laugh! Jesus!"

"I'm about to call security!"

"Sorry people! We'll shut up now!" Sarah shouted to all the annoyed people behind her. She turned back around and continued to silently laugh to herself. This was going to be a very interesting movie experience.

----

After the movie ended, Troy, Gabriella, Isabelle, and Sarah made their way out to Troy's car laughing their heads off.

"Man, I can't believe you gave him the fingers!" Sarah howled.

"Yeah, that was hysterical!" Gabriella added.

Troy rolled his eyes with a smile and replied "Well, I had to teach him who's boss. Anyways, how about we actually talk about the movie? Like... oh! Wasn't it funny when Roscoe and Clyde got into that big fight in the kitchen?"

Isabelle nodded "Yeah, that was my second favorite part! But my all time favorite was when the two dogs were humping each other! That was priceless!"

The 4 burst out laughing at the memory of the scene. Troy added between laughs "I think the funniest person in the movie was Reggie! He just didn't stop with the jokes!"

Sarah remembered "Oh, and then when he thought that Roscoe's fiancé was in the shower, but it was really Betty? Man, that was funny!"

The 4 shared more of their favorite moments before heading into the car and driving home, laughing and just having a good time as a family.

----

...That Night...

That night, Troy, Gabriella, Isabelle, and Sarah found themselves in Troy's room, looking at their Myspace's.

"Haha! Look at your face here Gabby!" Sarah laughed, pointing to a picture of Gabriella with her nose scrunched up and looking like she just ate something bad.

Gabriella laughed along with her friend and replied "Yeah, me and Sharpay were having a contest on who could pull off the stupidest face. Guess who won?"

Sarah pointed to her. Gabriella nodded. "Hers was pretty stupid, but not as stupid as mine."

Sarah laughed shortly one last time before looking up at her admiringly. "You're really a cool person Gabriella."

Gabriella looked down at the 11 year old and pulled her into a tight hug. "Not as cool as you."

After that, Troy walked into the room with more popcorn groaning "Alright, alright you two. Enough with the mushy, gushy stuff. On to my pictures."

Troy took the laptop from Sarah and logged into his Myspace just as Isabelle came back from the bathroom. "What'd I miss?" she asked generally.

"Nothing," Troy answered "And you're gonna be glad that you didn't miss my pictures when you see them."

Gabriella rolled her eyes with "A little self centered today, aren't we Mr. Bolton?"

Troy silenced her with a peck on the lips, whispering "Sometimes people are prettier when they're silent." Gabriella just smiled and shook her head slowly.

When Troy was successfully logged in, Isabelle crooned "Whoo! Awesome picture Troy! You may be my cousin and your girlfriend might be sitting right beside me, but that picture's sexy!" Gabriella sarcastically gasped and slapped the blonde's arm.

Troy nodded and scrolled through all of his new comments and messages. Afterwards, he clicked on the album "My Pics" and clicked on the first picture, "Me on a Boat..."

"Ha! You look retarded in those glasses!" Isabelle teased.

Troy ignored her and clicked to the next one, "Chad hogging the spotlight..."

"Oh my God! Chad's really hot now!" Isabelle gasped, holding her hand to her chest.

"Yeah, he really grew up!" Sarah said dreamily.

The next one, "You know I'm awesome!" earning a few "What the hell's and "You can't be serious's. Troy rolled his eyes and explained "What? I couldn't think of anything else."

Sarah murmured "How about something that's true?"

Troy threw a pillow at her face, hoping that she would fall off the bed. Gabriella caught her before that happened.

After clicking the next one, "Back up Brandon..." Sarah joked "I think he will after what you did to him in the movie! That was really funny!"

Troy nodded and gave her a high five. The next one, "Again, don't know who took that..." Isabelle asked "Who's that blonde guy in between you and Chad?"

Troy answered "That's Ryan, Sharpay's brother."

Sarah's eyes widened as she said "Wow, he grew up too. He's hot!"

Troy laughed "No comment. On to the next one." "My best buddy!!!"

"I swear you two are long lost brothers..." Gabriella commented, looking at the picture of Troy and Chad side by side.

"Yeah, I dream of that sometimes." Troy informed. The next one, "Me in detention... whoops."

"Haha! You were in detention? Who would've thought?" Sarah playfully said as she gazed upon Troy laying in a cardboard tree.

"Hey, don't blame me. Ms. Darbus is the crazy one." Troy defended, clicking on the next picture, "Can you handle dis?"

"WHOH!!!" was all the young women could scream. Troy smiled. He saw this reaction coming.

"Dude, what the hell?! You look like Leonardo DiCaprio!" Isabelle screamed.

"I second that! You look hot!" Gabriella added, not being able to take her eyes off of the screen.

Proudly, Troy beamed "Yeah, that was at Uncle Sean's wedding. The camera boy was feeling lucky and started shooting away. Like what you see?"

"Uh huh!!!" The girls answered in unison. The next one, "Family reunion..." had Isabelle saying "Oh lookie! There's me!"

Troy laughed, looking at the blonde in the grey dress.

"This is gonna be a long night..." he whispered to himself.

----

...1:00 in the Morning...

Lucy walked into Troy's room to expect them up and partying, but instead smiled when she saw them asleep and resting on each other.

"Aww, would you look at that?" she whispered to herself.

Gabriella and Isabelle were resting on Troy's chest with Isabelle more on his shoulder. Sarah was fixed under Gabriella's arm.

Lucy quietly crept over to the TV and turned it off. She then took the laptop from the table and hooked it up to its charger. She walked over to her family and gave them each a kiss on the forehead and Troy one the cheek. She then eyed Gabriella and gave her a kiss on the forehead too, whispering "You're a part of the family now."

Before walking out, she looked back at the teenagers and smiled "Goodnight angels."

* * *

**Didn't I tell you that it was a big pile of nothing? Srry about that, I was just introducing Isabelle and Sarah more. To see Troy's Myspace pictures and more of them, go to my pro. They're under the links section. Okay, REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	22. Worst Dance Ever

**Okay, so you know how last chapter was really pointless and stupid? Well, I hope that this chapter makes up for it. The ending gets really dramatic and sad. Plus, it's kinda like a cliffhanger. Sorry about that. lol!**

**Anyways, I don't own Wet Seal, DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) or the songs mentioned. But I do own Isabelle, Sarah, Olivia, Andrea, and Matt (You'll "meet" them mid-chapter) Okay, READ:)**

**P.S: I'm moving Sarah up to 12 years old. She's 11 in the previous chapters, but I'm making her 12 now :)**

* * *

...Olivia... 

Olivia woke the next morning to the smell of bacon and eggs being fried in the kitchen. She was about to rush down to eat when she remembered the news that she had yet to tell her children. She threw the covers off of her body and walked down the sun lit hall to Isabelle and Sarah's room that they shared. She opened the door, but was surprised to see that no one was occupying the room. Confused, the black haired 35 year old was about to call for them when she heard cheering downstairs. She walked downstairs and turned the corner into the living room. She smiled and laughed when she saw Troy and Isabelle having a heated competition of DDR. Gabriella was cheering Troy on while Sarah favored her sister. So far, Troy was winning by 50 points.

"Crap! Missed a step!" Isabelle groaned, noticing Troy's points skyrocketing.

"Keep your feet on the mat Izzy and _maybe_ you'll beat the master." Troy teased. Isabelle playfully glared at him and continued dancing. In a few seconds, she noticed that her points were almost matched to Troy's. "Looks like I'm catching up." Isabelle grinned, her confidence rising.

From behind her, she heard her mother say "Hey guys. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Troy answered "Sure, but can it wait until the end of this round? You can't pause this."

Olivia nodded. She took a seat next to Sarah and watched as her daughter competed against her nephew.

When the round ended, Troy threw his arms up in victory and shouted "Yes!!! I am victorious!"

Isabelle's mouth just dropped in shock. She then glared at the teenage boy beside her and growled "You cheated."

Troy rolled his eyes with "Yeah, yeah. Good sportsmanship."

In a huff, Isabelle sat next to her mother and changed the subject "So mom, what did you have to say?"

Olivia nodded and began "Okay, so you know how we'll be staying here for a few months until we find another house?"

Sarah and Isabelle nodded while Olivia continued "Well, we can't have you just sit here for 5 days while Troy and Gabriella go to school, so I transferred Isabelle to East High."

Isabelle gasped and squealed while hugging her mother tightly, yelling "Oh my God! Thank you so, so much mom! I'm going to school with Troy and Gabriella?!"

Olivia nodded and smiled "I've made your schedule match Troy's. Gabriella's in a few different classes, but you'll basically be in the same classes."

Troy, Gabriella, and Isabelle all cheered while Sarah complained "What about me? I'm not old enough to go to East High."

Olivia explained "You'll be going to East Middle sweetie. You're only in the 7th grade."

Sarah groaned "Oh great. So I'll be the new girl starting out with no friends while Izzy can automatically fit in with Troy and Gabriella's friends."

Troy shook his head "Don't worry Sarah. Taylor and Chad have siblings that are in the 7th grade too. Andrea McKessie's really nice and so is Matt Danforth. Does that make you feel better?"

Sarah sighed, but nodded. "Thanks Troy."

Troy nodded and piped up "As a matter of fact, why don't I call my friends so that it won't be a surprise on Monday? Gabby, go call Taylor and Sharpay and tell them to meet us at the mall in a half an hour with Andrea."

Gabriella nodded and went upstairs to get her phone. Troy brought out his cell and dialed Chad's number. After someone picked up, Troy said "Hey Chad, can you and Matt meet me at the mall in a half an hour...I'll tell you when we get there. Just bring him...okay, bye." With that, Troy hung up and turned back to Sarah, saying "Trust me, you two will totally click. He's a really nice guy."

Sarah leaned back in the couch and replied "I hope you're right Troy. I hope you're right."

----

...At the Mall...

When Troy and the gang arrived at the mall half and hour later, he caught sight of Chad's car. He had called Zeke and Jason also after he called Chad so that Isabelle could meet all of his friends and not just some of them.

They all got out of the car and walked into the food court, Isabelle and Sarah almost shaking with nervousness. Troy smiled when he saw Chad wave him over to the group that consisted of Chad, Matt, Zeke, Jason, Sharpay, Ryan, Kelsi, Taylor, and Andrea. Matt and Andrea looked really confused at the moment. Troy never really asked them to hang out with him.

When the Bolton clan reached the table, Troy generally greeted "Hey guys! Well, I've got a little surprise. There's gonna be a new girl on Monday. Meet Isabelle Johnson, my cousin and her little sister Sarah. Sarah's going to be in the 7th grade at East Middle. That's why I wanted Matt and Andrea to come."

Matt and Andrea stood and smiled at Sarah. As soon as Matt's eyes locked with Sarah's, Sarah could no longer feel her body. He smiled at her and she could see his smile glowing with the brightest light possible. He looked like he was working up to Chad's crazy hair, but it would take a year or so to get there. His dark brown eyes sparkled with friendship and kindness, along with his smile. His olive skin was a little lighter than Chad's, signaling that one of his parents had lighter skin than the other. He wasn't any taller than she was, so it was extremely easy to stare into his eyes. It was enough to make her faint.

"Hey. I'm Matt Danforth." Matt smiled, holding out his hand. Sarah felt a strong pinch on her exposed arm that stole her from her trance. She shook Matt's hand and replied dreamily "Sarah Johnson. Nice to meet you."

Andrea pushed her way through Matt and smiled brightly and excitingly "Hi! I'm Andrea McKessie! You'll be in my homeroom!"

Sarah giggled at her enthusiasm "Hi! Yeah I think we will be in the same room. My mom made our schedule's the same. I think."

Troy bent down to their level and suggested "Good, now that we've all met each other, why don't you go and let the big dogs rumble, huh?"

Matt shrugged and joked "I don't see Brandon anywhere, so don't you think that it's gonna be a little hard to get your butt kicked?"

Troy slapped his arm and demanded "Leave!"

Matt left with the girls, mumbling things to himself. Sarah blushed at nothing and thought _"Funny, cute, and nice. I just may like this guy..."_

Back with the teenagers, Gabriella turned to Chad and squealed "Did you see that?!"

"See what?" Chad replied, confused.

Gabriella groaned "The way Sarah was looking at Matt! He didn't even say anything and she was smiling and blushing! You couldn't have missed that!"

Chad shrugged "Well I did. I'm not the one to get into the whole 'Who's crushing on who' crap."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless..."

Troy interrupted "Okay, okay you two. Guys, as said before, this is Isabelle. You can just call her Izzy for short if you want to."

The gang all reached across the table to shake the blonde's hand. When it was Sharpay's turn, she added "Hey, I'm Sharpay Evans. We haven't exactly met, but I've seen you in the Bolton's house."

Isabelle remembered "Oh yeah. The first night we got here and when Gabby moved in, right?"

The entire gang, minus Sharpay, Troy, Gabriella and Isabelle screamed "MOVED IN?!?!"

Gabriella blushed furiously and whispered "Umm... yeah?"

Taylor cried "What do you mean 'moved in'?! Just because you and Troy are going out doesn't mean that you two can just move in together!"

Gabriella replied "Tay, you don't understand. There's a very good reason as to why I can't go home for a week or two."

Taylor, starting to get angry, nearly yelled "Oh yeah?! What's that?!"

"Brandon punched her." Sharpay answered for Gabriella, crossing her arms.

"WHAT?!?!" the gang screamed again.

Gabriella nodded and sadly explained "It was Friday. I had just gotten back from Troy's house and Brandon was home. He pinned me up against the wall and started screaming things like 'Why have you been ignoring me for the past 2 months?' and 'We could've just talked and everything would be fine, but you had to go and fuck everything up.' We ended up in a huge verbal fight and then he finally had enough, so he... punched my nose into the wall."

Chad clenched his fists and growled "I'm gonna kill that little mother fu-"

"No Chad! Leave him alone!" Troy grabbed him as he started walking out of the mall.

Chad protested "Troy! Your worst enemy punched your girlfriend and you're just gonna let him get away with it?! What's wrong with you?!"

Troy sighed "You know why I can't do anything to seriously hurt him. Me and you-know-who had a deal, remember?"

Chad's face drained of its red color and he sighed, falling back into a chair. "Yeah, I guess you're right. So what are you gonna do about it?"

Troy shrugged "Just wait until time tells me what to do I guess. In the meanwhile, don't do anything to Brandon unless I say so, got it?"

Chad, Zeke, and Jason nodded in understanding. "Got it." They all answered in unison.

Troy nodded "Good. Now, how about we all go walk around and get to know Izzy, huh?"

This put a smile on everyone's faces as they all either nodded or verbally answered. Troy smiled. He knew that they would love her.

----

...Monday...

Isabelle gulped again as she took another step towards the front doors of East High. Today was her first day and even though Troy and Gabriella were there to help her, she still couldn't help but feel nervous. Her and Troy's friends had all gotten to love each other over the weekend, but what about the other hundreds of students? What would they think of her?

"Don't worry Izzy," Gabriella comforted "Everyone's gonna love you. I'm sure of it."

Isabelle gave a small smile as she finally pushed through the doors and headed for the office. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, the new girl. Troy was walking right next to her with his hand on her back comfortingly. As she walked past a group of jocks, they whistled seductively and flirted "Hey baby! Bolton's got a girlfriend, you know that? Why don't you let me take you for a ride?"

Troy, now furious, warned "Shut up Greystone! She's my cousin, so back off and don't harass her!"

Josh Greystone, the head of the football team, scoffed "I don't give a crap! She's hot and you know my reputation when it comes to hot babes! Especially you're girl, huh?"

Troy prepared to lunge at him, but Gabriella and Isabelle held him back, yelling "No Troy! Don't!"

Troy, now red in the face, seethed "Don't become another Brandon Josh! You know what I can do to him, so don't be in that position too!"

Josh waved him off and finalized "Whatever Bolton. Just watch your back."

Troy turned before he lost control. He would take his anger out on Brandon later.

"Is he another Brandon for you Troy?" Isabelle asked.

Troy shook his head "No, but if he doesn't leave you and Gabby alone he will be."

Gabriella added "But get used to him getting in fights. He fights Brandon almost every day. Don't stop them unless Troy's losing badly."

Troy laughed and replied "Don't stop me at all. There's usually a really good reason as to why I'm fighting that punk, so don't stop me at all."

Isabelle nodded, understanding the new rules that she had to follow. As they turned a corner, the blonde caught sight of a bulletin board and exclaimed "Oh look! There's a dance on Friday!"

Troy nodded and said "Yeah, you wanna go or do you wanna wait until the next one when you get situated?"

Isabelle scoffed "Yeah right! I'm going on Friday and show this school who they're messing with!"

Troy laughed "That's my cuz..."

----

...Friday at the Dance...

"Yeah!!! Let's do this!" Isabelle screamed as she dashed out of Troy's car when they arrived at the school at 6:30. Troy and Gabriella just laughed at her. It was finally Friday, the day of the dance. Isabelle and Gabriella had gone shopping at Wet Seal for something to wear at the dance. Isabelle had chosen a leaf green banded bottom buckle cami with light blue jeans. Gabriella chose a rose colored Y neck halter top with gems in the center. She wore a white denim mini skirt with it.

After they paid to get in, Isabelle's mouth dropped in surprise. The entire student body was on the dance floor, going crazy and having the best time of their lives. 2 Step was playing and you could see everyone jumping around doing the moves to the dance.

"Oh my God, this is my song!" Gabriella shouted above the noise, pulling her two friends into the mass of students doing the 2 Step. When they found Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Jason, Ryan, and Kelsi, they all got in a line and started doing the dance, hearing the cheering and applause behind and in front of them. People shouted things like "Yeah! Go new girl!" and "You're diffidently not classified as a nerd!" Isabelle screamed "Thank you!" to all of them and they all smiled. This was going to be the best night in Albuquerque.

After the songs Crank That (Soulja Boy), Cyclone, Walk it Out, Pop Lock and Drop it, Low, Lean Wit it, and Kiss Kiss, Troy and Gabriella found themselves dancing to With You by Chris Brown.

"I love you Troy." Gabriella whispered.

Troy kissed her and replied "I love you too Gabby."

She smiled and let her head fall into his chest, slowly dancing to the beat of the song. Meanwhile, Isabelle was dancing with Sharpay **(No, not slow dancing like lezbos. If you've been to a school dance and see girls dancing with their other friends that are girls, you know what I mean)** They were laughing at their stupidity while a certain football captain was watching Isabelle with pure lust in his eyes.

"I'm gonna go get a soda. I'll be right back, okay?" Sharpay said. Isabelle nodded as she watched her friend walk away to the snack table on the other side of the room.

Just as Isabelle was about to go find Taylor, she felt 2 arms grab her, cover her mouth, and drag her into the janitor's closet.

----

In a few minutes, Sharpay returned to the spot that Isabelle should've been, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Izzy? Izzy, where are you?" the blonde called out.

After a few moments of looking, she walked over to Taylor and Chad and asked "Hey guys! Have you seen Isabelle?"

Taylor and Chad shook their heads and concerned "Wasn't she with yo-"

Before she could finish, her, Sharpay, and Chad heard a blood curdling scream coming from the janitor's closet. Everyone in the room turned their heads to see Isabelle running out of the closet with tears streaming down her face and blood running down her face and arms. Her top was trying to cover her chest and her jeans were falling off of her hips from the lack of her belt. She had blood on her neck also from the hickies and nail marks on her arms and shoulders. She ran directly for Troy and bombed into his arms, Gabriella moving out of the way. Troy's arms wrapped around the blonde by instinct as he shouted "What the hell happened to you?!"

Isabelle tried "Grey- Greyst- JOSH!!!"

Troy froze. He heard two people fighting in the closet where Isabelle had fled, but he didn't care.

"D-did he try to rap-" Troy furiously surveyed.

Isabelle nodded shakily and replied "He pulled me into the closet when Sharpay went to get a soda and... oh God Troy! Get me out of here!"

Troy nodded without any questions and demanded "Gabriella, catch a ride with Taylor and tell everyone to meet at my place. I'm gonna go take Isabelle home." Gabriella nodded and ran off to find her friends. Troy swept Isabelle into his arms bridal style and let her collapse into his chest, sobbing her eyes out. He didn't look around at the shocked and scared students around him, but someone did catch his eyes. Brandon was rubbing his sore looking fists and looking at Isabelle with concern. Troy, confused, took a better look at Brandon's hands and gasped.

Part of Josh's shirt was caught in between Brandon's fingers.

* * *

**Didn't I tell you that it was dramatic? Anyways, the links to Gabriella and Isabelle's outfits are in my pro under the links section. REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**A Peek at Next Chapter:**

**- What happened in the closet is revealed**

**_"What the hell happened back there?!" Troy demanded, holding Isabelle close._**

**_"S-Sharpay went to go get a soda and someone grabbed my arms. They dragged me into the janitor's closet and..."_**

**- The person who saved her is revealed**

**_"Montez!" Troy shouted across the hall_**

**_"What Bolton? I'm not in the mood for a fight and-"_**

**_"Thank you." Troy whispered, holding out his hand._**

**_"What?"_**

----

**Well, there you go. Nothing really exiting, right? Okay, REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Trivia:**

**- Sarah and Gabriella were supposed to be playing Guitar Hero while Troy and Isabelle were playing DDR**

**- Gabriella was supposed to wear a different top**

**- Josh wasn't supposed to show up until the dance**

**- Josh was named after an asshole at school (His last name isn't Greystone though)**

**- Andrea is my German name. We have languages at school and the first day of each, everyone in the class chooses a different first name for themselves. I chose Andrea :) Arthur chose Rudolf. lol that dumbass...**


	23. What's Happening to Me?

**Srry I haven't been updating guys! I've been working on the first chapter to "Forgotten Secret" which is the sequal to my story "Cheated". Okay, so remember how I said that nothing exciting really happens in this chapter? Well, screw that sentence! luv me xoxo GossipGal gave me this idea, so check out her review for last chapter if you can't wait to find out what it is :)**

**Oh yeah, and did I mention that "Brandon's Brothers" will be making an appearance in this chapter? You'll know what I mean when they come... :)**

* * *

...Brandon (After the Dance)...

Brandon walked through the door to his empty house sighing. He had just gotten back from the dance and in his eyes, that was relief in a bottle. Troy's cousin had almost gotten raped and if it wasn't for him, Isabelle would be in an abusive relationship with Josh. He remembered back to the horrifying moment.

**FLASHBACK (30 Minutes)**

_Brandon was slow dancing with Amy when With You came through the speakers. Even though they said that they were taking a break from each other, they just couldn't resist that song._

"_I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Be back in a few minutes, okay?" Brandon told her and she nodded. He walked off to the men's' bathroom and the whole time, he could hear strange sounds coming from the janitor's closet next to the bathrooms. When he finished, he walked outside and was about to walk back to Amy when he heard an ear piercing scream coming from the closet. After that, a smack and three harsh words: "Shut up bitch!!!"_

_Brandon ran to the closet and, making sure not to make his presence known, opened the door and stepped inside. There, lying on the floor, was Isabelle and Josh. Josh had her pants off and was going for her underwear while he was in nothing but his boxers. Isabelle had tears streaming down her bleeding face and was trying to push Josh off of her neck. She opened her mouth to scream, but Josh just punched her again and kissed her hard on the lips to prevent any sound at all. _

_When he successfully removed her underwear, he went for his boxers and just as he was about to fully rape the blonde, he felt a hard kick in his side. Screaming, he fell off of Isabelle and grabbed his hip, closing his eyes tightly. Isabelle looked up and all that could be soon was a silhouette. Brandon held out his hands and Isabelle grabbed them quickly, hoisting herself up and not caring that she was half naked. Brandon grabbed her underwear and jeans and handed them to her, which was when she remembered. Turning a deep shade of red, she turned to her savior and quickly got herself dressed again, hearing Brandon repeatedly keep Josh on the floor. _

_When she gave up looking for her bra, she turned to Brandon and asked "Who are you?"_

_Brandon shook his head and kicked Josh again, replying "Doesn't matter. Just run directly to Troy and go home as soon as possible! I'll keep Josh distracted. Just go!"_

"_But-"_

"_GO ISABELLE!" Brandon shouted, punching and kicking Josh again and again._

_Isabelle saw Josh punch Brandon in the stomach so hard, Brandon fell to the floor, letting Josh loose from his grip. Josh lunged at Isabelle and just as he was about to grab her, Brandon took hold of his leg and pulled him back, letting Isabelle go. She let out a blood curdling scream and ran out of the closet, holding up her top that Josh had ripped off her body. She ran through the pack of frozen students and searched for Troy. When she finally found him, she bombed into his arms and felt Gabriella move out of her way._

"_What the hell happened to you?!" Troy shouted, holding her tightly._

_Isabelle mentally debated weather she should tell him or not. She finally replied "Grey- Greyst- JOSH!!!"_

_Back in the closet, Brandon and Josh were in a full thrown battle. Brandon was winning, but he still hadn't fully beat Josh. He had a few cuts on his face, but they weren't bad at all. Josh had a huge gash on his chest, leading all the way up to his neck. His nose was bleeding as well as his busted lip. He had received a black eye and had large bruises all over his arms and shoulders. Still, after all of this torture, he refused to back down._

"_Give it up Montez!" Josh crooned "I'm gonna bang that bitch eventually!"_

_Brandon threw another furious punch at Josh's head, screaming "Leave her alone Greystone!"_

"_Make me!"_

_Brandon shrugged and kicked Josh in his sensitive area. When Josh doubled over on the floor, Brandon grabbed him by his shirt that he had managed to put on and punched him in his stomach multiple times. When he felt the blonde teen falling limp, Brandon threw him to the floor and with one final blow to the head, knocked him out cold._

"_Like I said, don't mess with Isabelle." Brandon mumbled, throwing Josh into the corner, ripping his shirt a little and not noticing the thread getting tangled with his fingers._

_As soon as he walked back out to the dance without anyone noticing him, he saw Isabelle getting swooped into Troy's protective arms and being walked out of the building, Troy eyeing him suspiciously the whole time. He didn't care though. All he wanted was for Isabelle to get to safety. _

_He didn't know why he cared so much. It was probably because he hated seeing any girl getting hurt by Josh. He was the school's biggest playboy and bully who was completely merciless to everyone. He was hated by every boy in the school and half of the girls. The other half just didn't care. And that's what scared Brandon. Those who didn't care weren't careful and ended up getting hurt by Josh. It broke the Montez's heart to see the girls crying on their friends' shoulders after a Josh attack. It all just brought bile to his throat._

**END FLASHBACK**

Brandon sighed again and flipped back to Isabelle. She had the most petrified look that he had ever seen in her beautiful blue eyes that made Brandon's heart skip a beat. He felt a spark start to burn a fire when he grabbed her hands to pull her to her feet. She also seemed to be his good luck charm since he didn't get beat by Josh. All that mattered was that Isabelle was safe at Troy's house. Josh could never get her there. It was way too crowded with Troy, his parents, Isabelle, Sarah, Olivia, and Gabriella. It was the biggest relief ever to Brandon.

The black haired teen shut the door to his room and remembered how he and Gabriella would go out for pizza and ice cream after a dance in middle school. After that, the two would head back home and watch a funny movie. Gabriella would often fall asleep on Brandon's chest, so he would just let the movie play to the end and tell his mother to turn the movie off when he finally fell asleep as well.

But those days were over. All because of he and what his cousin Kevin would call his "Fists of Fury". Kevin's brother Nick would just make the joke "Don't forget the furious mouth of his!"

Brandon growled in frustration and, flopping onto his bed, groaned "What would Kevin do?"

"Why, I don't know," came a sudden voice within the room. "Why don't you ask him?"

Brandon shot up like a rocket and gasped when out stepped his 20 year old cousin Kevin. Brandon jumped out of the bed and rushed over to his cousin, shouting "Kevin! What's up man?! What are you doing here?"

Kevin hugged Brandon back and replied "Your mom called us up and said that you've been depressed lately."

Brandon, confused, repeated "Us? Who's us?"

Behind Kevin came a mini version of the two boys. Nick greeted "Don't tell me that you forgot about me Montez!"

Brandon laughed and answered "What can I say? You're just not important enough."

Nick rolled his eyes and gave his cousin a hug. Brandon smiled, his crushed spirits finally lifting.

----

"So are you and Amy still together?" Nick asked Brandon as they scrolled through Brandon's iTunes library, checking out his music.

Brandon shrugged "I guess we're kinda on a break right now."

Kevin scoffed "For what? The 50th time?"

Brandon corrected "42nd. I've been counting."

Nick rolled his eyes and almost replied, but a song on iTunes caught his eye. "Oh! Just So You Know by Jesse McCartney! I love that song!"

The curly haired 15 year old double clicked on the song and as soon as he did, Brandon's face paled.

**I shouldn't love you but I want to  
I just can't turn away  
I shouldn't see you but I can't move  
I can't look away **

I shouldn't love you but I want to  
I just can't turn away  
I shouldn't see you but I can't move  
I can't look away

And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not  
'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop

Just so you know  
This feeling's taking control of me  
And I can't help it  
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now  
Thought you should know  
I've tried my best to let go of you  
But I don't want to  
I just gotta say it all  
Before I go  
Just so you know 

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Brandon pleaded the space bar to stop the song.

Nick complained "Dude! What the hell?!"

Brandon paced back and forth, mumbling to himself angrily.

"Brandon, is there something wrong?" Kevin carefully asked, placing a hand on the confused teen's shoulder. Brandon thought for a while longer before finally speaking "Is it possible to gain feelings for someone that you've only known for a week?"

Kevin shrugged "Maybe. It depends on how much you know her. Who is it?"

Brandon hesitantly sighed "This girl named Isabelle Johnson. I can't talk to her though."

Nick asked "Why? Are you shy? Because you're the last person alive to be called shy. You're still fighting Troy, right?"

Brandon nodded "That's the thing. Isabelle's Troy's cousin. I saved her tonight."

"From what?"

"Rape."

Kevin and Nick's mouths dropped to the ground, their eyes wide. "Who tried to rape her?! Is she hurt?!" Nick exclaimed, not believing his ears.

Brandon shook his head "I don't think so. Josh dragged her into a closet at the dance and right before he did it, I found him and kicked him off of her. When I grabbed Isabelle's hands to pull her up, I don't know. I just felt something there. Like I wanted to get to know her better or something. I feel guilty because I'm dating Amy, but I still just... I don't know. She makes me feel different."

Kevin nodded, walking up to his cousin and sitting them both down on the bed, Nick sitting next to Brandon also.

Kevin said softly "Do you want to talk to her?"

Brandon nodded slowly "More than anything."

Kevin then replied "Then go for it! Troy's the only one holding you back, right?"

Brandon nodded "Yeah, pretty much."

Kevin gave him a knowing look and said "Then what are you scared of? If you get in a fight, then you get in a fight. Don't you always fight Troy?"

Brandon shrugged "I don't want Isabelle to think any worse of me. I want to put on a good image and I don't think that beating up her closest cousin would help me."

Kevin laughed shortly and replied "Yeah, that wouldn't do you any good, would it?"

Brandon laughed at his comment and heard Nick say "Guys, this subject's giving a headache. Let's get Gabby in here. She'll light up a room any day."

Brandon's face fell as he saw Nick stand and start for the door. "She's not here." He muttered, looking up at his cousin.

Nick shrugged and replied "Oh, well when's she gonna be back? 10:00?"

Brandon shook his head and answered "Nope, more like a week."

Nick stopped short and turned around to face Brandon. "What do you mean she won't be back for another week? What happened?"

Brandon felt his eyes well up as he explained "Her and Troy are dating and she's living with him for a week or two. I need to get used to it and I can't do that if they're always around here making out and stuff."

Kevin rose and eyebrow and asked "What aren't you telling us? That's not a good enough reason to move out."

Brandon sighed and closed his eyes, saying "I got angry that she was hanging around Troy and I just... lost control and punched her."

Nick gasped while Kevin shook his head sadly. "Did you break her nose?"

Brandon shook his head. Kevin stood and asked "How long has she been gone?"

Brandon answered "About a week. It's been the loneliest week of my week of my life though. This house is so empty and lifeless right now without her."

Nick joked "Seems like it could use a lady's touch."

Brandon shoved "Shut up. Kev, I seriously don't know what to do about Isabelle. If it weren't for Troy, I wouldn't have a problem, but I'm just scared. What do I do?"

Kevin seemed to be thinking for a few minutes before advising "Look Brandon. Me and Nick know how serious you are when it comes to having feelings for someone. Remember how you couldn't stop smiling when you first met Amy? You thought that you were in love."

Brandon gave a small laugh at the memory. That was the week that he had failed his mid terms and even then he couldn't stop smiling!

He replied "Yeah. Troy thought that I was on drugs or something. He threw a bucket of water on me when I didn't answer his question for the tenth time that week. Good times, good times..."

Kevin watched him space out and asked "You miss being his best friend, don't you?"

Brandon nodded "More than anything. I still don't know why he just lied to me like that. We were like brothers and he promised that he would always be by my side in life. I don't know what happened."

Nick added "Yeah. I had a friend like that, but it turns out that he was just trying to protect me. He cared about me so much that he died for me."

"What happened?" Brandon asked.

Nick answered "This guy named Brick wanted me to die for breaking up with his niece Marissa or whatever her name was. But before he did, he found out that me and Billy were best friends and that I depended on him so much. Brick forced him to end our friendship or both of us were dead. After about a month or so, Billy couldn't take it anymore and told me what happened. Brick found out and put the gun to my head, but Billy stabbed Brick knee and got shot in the throat instead. Brick's still out there, but he's over me. I heard that he's after someone else now."

Brandon worriedly asked "Who is it?"

Nick shrugged "I don't know and I don't really care. I just hope that he dies soon for what he did to Billy."

Kevin rubbed his little brother's back and comforted "Don't worry Nick. At least Brick's not after you anymore."

Nick nodded and turned back to Brandon, saying "Brandon, take my advice and try to find out why Troy lied to you. You'll feel a whole lot better, trust me."

Brandon mentally kicked himself as he remembered something. "Shit! Gabby was about to tell me why but I punched her instead! Stupid, stupid me!"

Kevin piped up "Brandon, don't you think that you can ever just forget it and forgive Troy?"

Brandon didn't reply. He just looked off to the side and thought to himself _"You have no idea how many times I've tried to do that..."_

----

...At the Bolton House...

When Troy and Isabelle arrived home, they found that Taylor's car was already in the driveway.

"Okay, they're already here. Do you need me to carry you again?" Troy concerned, eyeing the bruise under the hole in Isabelle's jeans.

Isabelle shook her head and whimpered "I think I can walk. He didn't really hurt my legs that much."

Troy nodded and exited the car, sprinting over to Isabelle's door. She got out of the car and rested on the side for support, getting a little dizzy. She took a few steps before concluding that she was fine. She grabbed Troy's arm and dizzily walked to the door, entering the house. Before the two were even a foot into the house, Lucy came running to them and shouted "ISABELLE!!! OH MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED?!?! DID JOSH HURT YOU?!?!"

Isabelle shook her head and accepted the hug that her aunt gave her. "No Aunt Lucy, I'm fine. A little dizzy, but I'm good. I just need to sit down for a little while."

Lucy nodded and led her to the living room couch where the rest of the gang was. The blonde sat between Taylor and a sobbing Sharpay, who was crying into Zeke's chest.

"Shar, what's wrong?" Isabelle asked her, getting worried.

Sharpay threw her arms around Isabelle and cried "Izzy, I'm so sorry! I feel like it's all my fault! If I had just stayed with you, then-"

"Sharpay! It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault. It was just a bad luck moment. You did nothing wrong." Her words seemed to calm Sharpay down a little bit, but she was still letting tears free. "Okay, but I still feel guilty."

"Look, who's fault it was doesn't matter. The important thing is that Isabelle's okay and no one got hurt." Gabriella interrupted.

"Yeah, everyone except Josh." Chad furiously added. "I swear, I'm gonna kick his stupid ass the next time I see that little mother fu-"

"Chad, calm down," Isabelle stopped him from storming out of the house. "Josh already got half of what he deserved. He already got beat up."

"By who?" Jason asked, his arm around Kelsi.

"I-I don't know. Whoever saved me, I guess. I just wish I know who did it." Isabelle replied sadly, checking out a cut on her arm.

Troy, looking at the ground, piped up "I know who saved you."

Every head in the room snapped towards Troy, wanting to know who Isabelle's savior was.

"Who was it?" Sarah asked, taking off Isabelle's sweater that she let Sarah use. Sarah threw it over to Isabelle to put on.

"It was... it was..." Troy stammered, trying to answer.

"SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!!!" Sharpay screamed, wanting to know who saved her best friend from tragedy.

"IT WAS BRANDON!!!" Troy shouted.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!!! Sorry about that. I just thought that this was getting kind of long and I needed to end it somewhere. Anyways, what do you think's happening to Brandon? Will the same thing happen to Isabelle or will she have different feelings? REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Another clue to Troy's reason was in this chapter. See if you can find it :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Trivia:**

**- Kevin and Nick weren't planned to know that Gabriella was living with Troy**

**- The chapter preview from last chapter was actually supposed to happen (My bad...)**

**- This chapter wasn't supposed to end as a cliffhanger**

**There's more trivia for this chapter, but I can't tell you without giving next chapter away. Now, I _PROMISE_ that something exciting happens next chapter. Trust me, you'll be like "WTF?!?!" :)**

**Rachel :)**


	24. Forbidden Love

**Okay, so if you read my story "Cheated", then you'll probably recognize this intro (No one moved. No one breathed. All they could do was...). I was having writer's block, so sorry that I repeated. Anyway, this is a really intense chapter towards the end. I forget if I put any clues in here or not, but if you find any, good for you :)**

* * *

No one moved. No one breathed. All the gang could do was stare at Troy, who was keeping his eyes everywhere but at his friends. He knew exactly what was coming.

"You can't be serious." Chad flatly said, still staring at his best friend.

Troy shrugged "Why would I joke about something like this Chad? Brandon saved Izzy. If you were looking at Brandon before I brought her home, it would be obvious. He had a few cuts on his face, his fists were red, and then he had part of Josh's shirt caught between his fingers. Now tell me that he didn't save her."

Gabriella argued "But it just doesn't make any sense! Brandon knows that Isabelle's your cousin, so why would he help out a Bolton relative?"

Troy answered "But he also knows that you and Isabelle are close to best friends, so I'm guessing that he's trying to impress you and persuade you to go back home."

Sharpay, no tear-free, stood and silenced everyone with "Wait, wait, wait! I think the easiest way to figure this out is to just ask Isabelle if she saw anything in the closet."

Turning to Isabelle, Sharpay calmly asked "Izzy, did you see anything that he was wearing or what he looked like? Did his voice sound like Brandon's?"

Isabelle looked at the floor for a while, deep in thought and feeling the pressure from everyone to come up with an answer.

She finally answered "I remember him wearing a black Hollister shirt. It was cuffed at the elbows and had white vertical stripes everywhere. He had dark blue jeans and his hair was about 2 inches from his shoulders. His eyes were medium brown and as for his voice, I've never really heard Brandon scream before, so I can't answer that question. That's all I remember."

Troy nodded and concluded "Doesn't that sound _exactly_ like Brandon? He was the only one there who was dressed in head to toe black."

Taylor figured "But there were 2 guys at the dance with formal Hollister shirts, Brandon and Chase Williams."

Jason corrected "No, Chase was wearing Abercrombie, his shirt was navy blue, and his stripes were horizontal. Brandon was vertical, right Izzy?" Isabelle nodded.

Zeke sighed "Well, you can't really argue with that. I guess Troy's right."

Troy nodded "Thank you for finally agreeing with me. No the real question is, what do we do now?"

The room fell silent for a few moments, everyone pondering Troy's question. They were all exchanging confused glances until Sarah piped up "I say you either ask him yourself or if you really believe that he saved my sister, you, dare I say it, thank him."

Kelsi was the first to comment "She's right. Brandon technically saved Isabelle's life. We can't just ignore that."

Jason agreed "They're both right. We just need to forget the fight between Troy and Brandon for a second and actually think of him as someone who saved someone close to us."

It took them a while, but everyone eventually agreed with the three friends. Gabriella piped up "Okay, so we're planning on thanking Brandon, but I think we all know that we can't do this without Troy. He's a part of this too."

At that moment, Troy averted his eyes to the ground and shuffled his feet, shaking his head. Gabriella asked "Why no-"

"He can't," Chad answered for Troy "He can't be nice to Brandon no matter how much wants to. Remember the deal?"

Gabriella softened and recalled "Oh yeah. Well then what are we gonna do?"

Nobody knew. They all just sat there in a helpless heap. Closing her eyes, Isabelle finally sighed "I'll do it. I'm the one he saved, so I think I'm the one who needs to thank him."

Everyone's heads turned toward the beaten teen before them with confused and shocked faces, the biggest one coming from Troy. "Are you out of your mind?!" he bellowed, wide eyed. Isabelle nodded and stood, replying "I need to personalize this thank you and he might feel cornered with all of you around me. I need to do this alone."

"But Izzy-" Sarah tried, but Isabelle cut her off "I'm gonna go take a shower and go bed. See you guys later." With that, they watched her exit the room and limp up the stairs, not looking back at them.

Groaning, Gabriella let her head fall into Troy's chest, asking "Do you think she should do it?"

Troy closed his eyes and stroked Gabriella's arm gently, sighing "I'm not gonna follow your brother's example. We don't control Isabelle's life, so yeah. I'm gonna let her do it."

Gabriella nodded and announced "I think it's time for you guys to go home. We'll talk to you tomorrow."

The gang nodded and said goodbye to their friends, got into their designated cars, and sped off down the road, afraid for the safety of their friend.

--

Isabelle stepped into the shower and watched the blood drain off of her and empty through the tiled floor, feeling the warm, comforting water wash over her.

"_Just like Brandon's touch..."_ she thought to herself dreamily. She remembered how gentle he was with her when he pulled her up off the ground and how he didn't look down at her revealed lower area. Any other boy, like Josh, would stop and stare, commenting on how sexy she was. This thought just brought more tears to her blue eyes.

She knew that everyone had to know by now and they were going to give her hell on Monday. Someone probably changed the story and said that she was willingly having sex with Josh. But they should've known her better than that. She would never do that. Not with Troy around.

Bringing her thoughts back to Brandon, she remembered how worried and restless his eyes were when he saw the state that she was in. They barely talked in the week that Isabelle had been at East High, but he really cared about her. He was a true gentleman.

"_Slow down Isabelle Johnson!"_ she mentally kicked herself for thinking about Brandon that way. _"What the hell are you doing?! You can't have a crush on your cousin's worst enemy! Stop it!"_

She nodded her head to no one and finished taking her shower. She got changed into her nightclothes and limped over to her and Sarah's room, climbed into her light blue bed, and drifted asleep, the image of Brandon's smiling face lulling her into dreamland.

--

Monday eventually rolled around and Isabelle found herself in the one place she had been dreading the entire weekend. East High School.

"Don't worry Izzy," Gabriella comforted, rubbing her back "Josh got expelled and is jail for up to 2 years. He can't get you here."

Isabelle nodded and forwarded to her class, not wanting to tell Gabriella the real reason she was afraid to come to school. Three words: Her dance savior.

As Isabelle walked to her locker, she bumped into someone along the way. She turned a deep shade of red due to her clumsiness and apologized "Oh, I'm so sorry! I should watch where I'm going more."

The boy she ran into shook his head "No, it's my fault. I... Isabelle?"

Isabelle looked up from re-gathering her books and found herself looking into the brown eyes that she was dreaming about all weekend. "Brandon?"

Brandon smiled, making Isabelle's knees weaken. "Hey. Are you alright, you know, from the dance? Josh really hurt you."

Isabelle nodded and shyly answered "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Listen, can I talk to you at lunch? There's something that's been on my mind and I kinda need to talk to you about it."

Brandon seemed a little hesitant as he looked over in Troy's direction. The basketball captain had an angry look drawn across his face as he whispered something in Sharpay's ear. Sharpay turned to Brandon also and smiled sadly at Isabelle. With that, she said one last thing to Troy before turning on her heel and walking off to homeroom. Once Troy caught Brandon's gaze, he gave him a hateful glare and stomped off, following Sharpay.

"What about-" Brandon tried, but Isabelle cut him off with "Don't worry. Troy knows that I'm talking to you and he's fine with it. So, see you then?"

Brandon once again smiled at the blonde and nodded "Sure. Can't wait."

Isabelle grinned and walked off, feeling light headed. _"What's he doing to me?"_

--

...Lunchtime...

"So Troy figured it out?" Brandon groaned, feeling stupid for some reason.

Isabelle nodded as she adjusted her hood. Troy and the gang knew that she was seeing Brandon, but the rest of the school didn't. They were sitting in a dark table in the corner in which case no one could see them.

"Yeah. He knew before we even left the school. He saw the cuts on your face and some of Josh's shirt in between your fingers." Isabelle replied, shifting in her seat. For a cold corner, it seemed to be really hot.

Brandon sighed and fell back in his seat. "What did he say about it?"

Isabelle shrugged "Nothing bad really. He was in shock that it was you of all people. He also thought that you were using me to impress Gabriella and get her to... go back home." She finished in a whisper.

Brandon's face darkened "That's not true. I would never use a girl like that."

Isabelle smiled sympathetically and responded "I know you wouldn't. So what's the real reason you saved me? You obviously knew that I was related to the Boltons."

Brandon grinned "I don't know. I just hate seeing girls get hurt by Josh. Especially like that."

Isabelle blushed "So you didn't do it just because you're a nice guy and my official hero?"

Brandon's face lit up at the mention of being her hero. "Your what?"

Isabelle smiled "You saved me from possibly the worst thing that could ever happen to me. How can I not call you a hero for that?"

Brandon felt a warm spot in his heart that didn't signal a good thing. He and Isabelle had been talking about random things earlier in the period and one of them was how Troy found out that he was in love with Gabriella. He couldn't be in love with Isabelle. Not after just one week!

"Thanks. I guess I should be flattered." Brandon joked, hearing Isabelle laugh again. He couldn't help but laugh along.

"Damn right you should. Everyone wanted me to personally thank you instead of us all just ganging up on you and saying it, so thanks Brandon. You're really a lifesaver." With that, she leaned over and kissed Brandon's blushing cheek. He froze as Isabelle dragged back over to Troy's table. Brandon softly touched the spot where Isabelle had kissed and whispered to himself "I'm only your hero."

--

...One Week Later...

Isabelle and Brandon walked through the halls laughing about how Brandon had thrown the spitball at Ms. Darbus in homeroom. They both burst out laughing and got a 2 hour detention. But they were in it together. And that's all that mattered.

"Oh my God, did you see her face when you were trying to put the straw away without her seeing?!" Isabelle recalled, not noticing the glare being given from Troy.

"Yeah, she was so red! She really needs to learn how to lighten up!" Brandon replied, barely being heard from his laughter.

Isabelle giggled one last time before feeling him lightly take her hand in his and continuing walking down the hall. Shocked by this movement, she didn't let it show as she blushed for the 50th time that day. He was her weakness now.

"Izzy, can I ask you something?" Brandon suddenly asked after about a minute of a comfortable silence.

Isabelle nodded "Shoot."

"Are you willing to lie to Troy?"

Confused by this question, Isabelle answered "What do you mean? Lie to him about what?"

Brandon rested them both against a locker and replied "Will you... umm... g-go out... with me... tonight?"

Isabelle felt the world stop when he finally asked her out. She stared into his worried and anxious eyes, which seemed to scream "PLEASE SAY YES!!!"

Isabelle gave her million dollar smile and finally hugged him, saying "I'd love to. Call my cell after school."

Brandon let out a relieved sigh as he hugged her back, replying "Will do. See you at lunch?"

Isabelle nodded "Count on it."

Brandon smiled and felt his heart soar. Even though Gabriella had decided to stay at the Bolton house for one more week to make sure that Brandon didn't explode on her again, he didn't care at the moment. Isabelle would quickly fill the burning emptiness inside of him. He was sure of it.

--

Isabelle and Brandon now found themselves sitting under the shining moonlight, staring at the lake in each other's arms. Brandon had his arm around her shoulders and her arms rested in his lap while her head fell into his chest about 10 minutes earlier.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it Brandon?" Isabelle suddenly sighed, referring to the lake in front of her.

Brandon tightened his grip around her and restrained from saying "Not as beautiful as you." Instead, he just kissed her hair and replied "Yeah it is. I had a really great time tonight."

Isabelle smiled "So did I. I'm glad I said yes to this. It was the best night since I've been here. Thanks."

Brandon laid his head in her shoulder and mumbled "No problem."

Isabelle smiled and closed her eyes, taking in Brandon's scent. It was sweet and natural, just like he was to her. She loved that about him.

As Brandon gazed out into the water, he felt a drop of water hit his nose. Before he could even raise his hand to wipe it away, he felt another one land on his arm. He looked up at the sky and, smiling, told her "Looks like a storm's coming."

Isabelle nervously rubbed her arm and said "Yeah. Do you want to go back to your car? It looks heavy."

Brandon was already getting hit with more raindrops as he shook his head "No, this night isn't over yet. Do you want to go home?"

When Isabelle saw the playful and childish look in his eyes, she knew that she couldn't say no and ruin his fun. She smiled and took his now outstretched hand, saying "No, I'm fine. Shall we?"

By now, the rain had reached its highest point as it pelted the teenagers' heads and drenched their entire bodies. But they didn't care. They were too busy dancing like maniacs and laughing their heads off. As they spun around, Brandon called to her "Told you this night wasn't over yet!"

Isabelle laughed back "I guess you were right! This is so much better than riding in a car and going home!"

Brandon couldn't help but give a wide smile. She was just so beautiful in the rain and smiling. Amy would've killed him if he was doing this, but Isabelle just seemed to go along with it and actually have fun with it. She was carefree. That's what he loved most about her.

After about 15 minutes of acting like fools, Isabelle lost her footing on a rock and tumbled to the ground, taking Brandon with her. The two fell in a heap in the wet grass and just laughed again, staring into each other's eyes. Blushing furiously, Isabelle picked herself up and apologized "Sorry I'm so clumsy. I should really work on that."

"It's okay. I have the same problem sometimes too." Brandon replied, standing right behind her. After wiping some of the mud off of her shirt, Isabelle turned around and expected to see an empty space to walk, but instead she just bumped into Brandon's wet chest and slipped. But before she could fall, Brandon caught her by her arms and by instinct, pulled her as close to him as he could. They froze, staring at each other with love shining in their eyes. Slowly, but surely, they leaned in closer and closer until they were just mere centimeters from the other's lips. Just as Brandon was about to close the gap between him and Isabelle, she flinched and whimpered, signaling that she was still not over what happened with Josh.

"I'm not going to hurt you Izzy." Brandon whispered, stroking her now curly hair.

"I know, but..." she looked up into his pleading eyes and closed hers, finally meeting his lips in a strong, passionate kiss. Finally, after 2 weeks of emptiness, Brandon finally felt human again. He felt whole. Just from the touch of someone's skin against his.

They were now in a proper make out stance, meaning their arms were fully around each other's waist or neck, and never wanting to break apart. But oxygen was obviously needed more than the need to kiss somebody. They eventually separated and smiled into each other's eyes, breathing hard.

"I love you Izzy." Brandon muttered into her fist, which he was now kissing.

Isabelle lightly smiled "2 weeks. That's a new record for me."

"What do you mean?"

"The shortest time I've ever fallen in love with someone was a month. You broke that record for me. I love you too."

Brandon smiled, feeling the tears well up in his eyes. Knowing that the rain would cover for him, he let them fall freely as he pulled Isabelle into another loving kiss, feeling all of his problems melt away and not seeing the dreaded person that was staring at them from the bottom of the hill.

"Thanks for an amazing night Brandon. You're amazing." Isabelle breathed into his chest after breaking apart for the second time.

Brandon hugged her back and whispered "Not as amazing as you."

Isabelle felt her own tears start to build in her own eyes as she closed them, letting out a shaky breath. She had been reluctant when moving to Albuquerque, but now she knew that it was worth it. She had finally found the love that she had been missing her entire life. The worst enemy of her closest cousin.

--

"Troy, wait! Calm down! I'm sure that what you think you saw isn't really what was there!" Gabriella called up to her boyfriend of two weeks. Troy was on a rampage, quickly speed walking back to his car in the park parking lot. What he thought would be a romantic night with Gabriella turned out to be a complete disaster on his part.

"How the hell can I calm down Gabby?!" Troy shouted, turning to his girlfriend. "I just saw my effing cousin kiss my worst enemy and you're telling me to CALM DOWN?!"

Gabriella groaned "It wasn't that bad Troy! It was probably just a friendly kiss! They're becoming friends now and he probably just did something really sweet and thanked him for it with-"

"Playing tonsil hockey with him?!" Troy shot back, not letting her finish.

Gabriella let out a frustrated growl, watching Troy continue to his car. She followed him and once she reached the car, she asked "You're not gonna explode on her, are you Troy? Because you know how I feel about that kind of stuff now."

Troy sighed back "No, of course not. I just plan on sternly telling her to stay the hell away from him. There. Perfect." He finished with a cheesy grin.

Gabriella rolled her eyes, not wanting to push the subject any further. She was already wet and she somehow got into a bad mood when she was soaked. She threw her head back in the seat and rode back to Troy's house in silence, praying that Isabelle knew he was there.

--

Isabelle walked into her new home soaked to the bone. But no matter how cold she was, she couldn't help but feel the heat of hell rise upon her. Brandon had broken into her heart and stolen every piece of it. And she didn't mind at all. She had done the same thing, hadn't she?

With a dreamy sigh concerning her new boyfriend, she closed the door and just as she did, a scream escaped her throat.

"Hey Iz." Troy greeted, trying to sound cheerful and struggling to hold back the glare he was dying to give her.

"Troy, don't ever scare me like that again!" Isabelle scolded, holding her hand to her chest.

Troy nodded and followed the blonde, who was now proceeding in walking up the stairs to the shower. "Where've you been?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "I told you. I was at Sharpay's."

Troy's eyes squinted as he figured "Then why are you all wet?"

Isabelle lied "Her and her family were going out so I had to walk home. Can I please take my shower now?"

Troy, now letting his glare loose, pushed his cousin up against the wall as he growled "Really, or did you just catch a ride with Montez?"

"Troy-"

"Admit it Isabelle! You went out with Brandon and ended up making out! Just say it!"

"Troy, I-"

"ADMIT IT!!!" Troy screamed, tightening his grip on her shoulders, which were now lightly bleeding.

"I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM!!!" Isabelle screamed back, glad that her and Troy were the only ones in the house. Gabriella was in the shower or listening to her iPod, so she couldn't have heard them.

Troy shook his head slowly and full of rage, his eyes flashing with disappointment. "Just as I thought. Falling for the enemy."

"Troy, can you just stop?!" Isabelle furiously snapped "It's not like you're not doing the same thing to him! You're in love with his sister!"

"That's different!" Troy replied loudly. "I'm not just trying to get in her pants! That's all Brandon wants! He's just another Josh!"

At that moment, Troy felt a burning pain radiate through his cheek, signaling that he had just been slapped. He sighed and looked back at Isabelle, who's face was red with rage and her hands curled up into fists.

"Don't...you...dare. Brandon would _never_ do that to me! He loves me! I can see it in his eyes! He's different around me!" Isabelle spat, starting to shake with rage.

Troy had to strain to not tackle her to the ground and scream how wrong she was. Instead, he just let out an angry sigh and said "One week. That's all you have to realize how I'm right about Brandon. You have one week to date him."

Isabelle tried "Don't even go there!"

"Listen to me Izzy!" Troy shot at her "The only long term girlfriend that he's had was Amy and they've broken up like 50 times!"

"42 to be exact!" Isabelle harshly corrected.

"Like I give a dead rat's ass!" Troy rejected "You'll break up with him in one week or he's strangely going to find out about your promise to Austin."

Isabelle's face drained of it's red shade, her shaking switching from rage to fear. "You wouldn't dare..."

"Try me." Troy seethed in a whisper.

"Fine!" she nearly screamed at him. "But if he doesn't try anything in a week, I'm staying with him and show you that you're out of your mind!"

"Fine!" Troy finalized before shoving her out of the way and stomping up to he and Gabriella's room. When she finally heard the door slam, Isabelle let loose the tears that she refused to let Troy see when he was in front of her. She slid onto the middle stair and let her head collapse into her knees, which were now pulled up to her chest. One week. That's how much time she had to love him properly. She had no idea how tell him. He couldn't find out. She couldn't stand to see him broken hearted.

"Why do you always ruin these perfect nights for me Troy?" she whimpered to no one before the sound of Brandon's "I love you" lulled her to sleep, right there on the middle stair.

* * *

**Hmm... I think I made them fall in love a little fast, dont you? Oh well. Brandon and Izzy are in love! What else could go wrong? REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Trivia:**

**- Brandon and Isabelle were supposed to jump into the lake to get wet, not by the rain**

**- You were supposed to see how Troy and Gabriella found out that Isabelle was kissing Brandon, but I decided to leave that out **

**- Isabelle wasn't supposed to fall asleep on the stair. She was planned to cry herself to sleep in her room**


	25. Never Enough Time

**Hey guys! I've got a few things to say:**

**1) DaMallIsMyHome sent a wonderful review stating the changes that this story has gone through. If you read it, you'll say "THAT'S A FLAME!!!" but to me, it's the best review I've ever gotten! I've noticed that this story has kinda "lost the spark it had in the beginning" and I think it kinda comes back in this chapter. The change started around chapter "Thoughtless", so compare chapter 12 and 13. You'll see what I mean...**

**2) A few people have asked me what Isabelle looks like. That was revealed in the "Fun With the Family" chapter. If you recall Troy going through his Myspace pictures, Isabelle said "Oh lookie! There's me!" The link to that picture is in my profile. The link name is "Family Reunion" She's blonde, blue eyes, and is the only one wearing a silver dress in that picture...**

**3) A while ago, I made an alternate trailer to this story. It's much more dramatic and WAY shorter. So if you want it, I can PM it to you or something. I kept wanting to put that in an author's note, but I kept forgetting...**

**Okay, enough of my rambling. READ:)**

* * *

Isabelle woke up on the cold stair drenched in tears. She couldn't really remember why she was on the stairs in the first place, but whatever the cause, it couldn't be good. 

"_Oh well,"_ she thought to herself. _"Might as well go to bed."_

Lugging herself off of the stairs, she wiped her face to get rid of the rest of the tears. The blonde walked into her room and smiled when she saw Sarah sleeping peacefully.

"How could she have missed me on the stairs?" Isabelle thought to herself. She shrugged and moved on to the shower, the previous night coming back into her memory.

"Oh that's right!" she mentally kicked herself for not remembering earlier. "Oh shit! Brandon!"

She quickly finished her shower and hopped into bed, grabbing her cell phone and getting ready to text him. Suddenly, a message flashed "New Message"

Isabelle clicked on the Read button and read_ "srry i had 2 b tht harsh on u. dont talk 2 brandon bout wats goin on_

_From: Troy_

_4:30am 3/10/08_

Isabelle's first thought was to just ignore the text, but she soon sighed and put her phone away. She fell back onto her bed and thought back to the argument between her and Troy. He had threatened to tell Austin about Brandon and her. That couldn't happen. Austin would hunt her down and kill her if he found out.

Austin Cole was Isabelle's boyfriend back in California. A few days before the Johnson family moved, Austin told Isabelle that he loved her and she said that she felt the same way. She didn't know exactly why she told him that she loved him, but it was the first thing that came to her mind. Austin was the captain of the football team and was very aggressive with everyone he met except Isabelle. Isabelle knew that he was just trying to get her to sleep with him, but she wasn't going to let him. She was afraid that if she said that she didn't love him, he would force her into the relationship and become abusive.

When Isabelle heard that they would be moving, she completely forgot to break up with him. It wasn't until Troy mentioned him last night that she remembered. She also got a blurry vision of his face when Josh, captain of the football team, almost raped her.

Isabelle sighed again. Austin couldn't find out. Troy had his number somehow and could easily just call him. It was that simple. One phone call and her life was ruined. Brandon was dead too.

Letting out a groan of frustration, the blonde fell back onto her bed and, careful not to wake her sleeping sister, murmured _"Why can't you just tell Brandon, Troy? Please. You're killing all of us."_

----

...Monday (East Middle)...

Sarah waltzed into East Middle School with Andrea by her side. Matt had an early appointment and wouldn't be at school until 2nd period. Sarah was now laughing at a joke that Andrea made.

"Yeah, I can't believe Taylor's still denying her love for Chad!" Sarah laughed.

Andrea replied "I know! But I heard Matt say that Chad plans on asking her out today. I don't know. We'll see."

Sarah nodded as the two friends walked into Ms. Robinson's home room.

"Okay guys! I have a few announcements this morning! First off, I would like to say that the auditions for honors chorus are 9th period, so those of you who want to show your stuff, sign up! Next up, the Tech Ed room is moving to room 475 due to some construction issues. Apparently Jimmy Knox broke his arm because part of the ceiling fell on him. So if you have Tech Ed this quarter, head to room 475."

Sarah rolled her eyes and mumbled to Andrea "Serves that asshole right."

Andrea nodded and gave Sarah a horizontal high five. "You can say that again sister. Did you hear about how he slapped Michelle's butt at the football game on Friday?"

Sarah made gagging noise and replied "Ugh! Perv!"

Just then, the door to the room opened and Sarah smiled at who walked in. Matt handed Ms. Robinson his pass and walked to the back of the room where his seat was. He smiled at Sarah warmly as he dropped a folded piece of paper on her desk. Sarah quickly covered it and hid it under her desk. She opened it and read _"Wait for me after homeroom. - Matt."_

Sarah smiled and turned her head to face him, nodding. Matt grinned back and gave her two thumbs up. Sarah turned around quickly to hide her blush. Ignoring Ms. Robinson's further announcements, Sarah daydreamed into the period, wondering what Matt wanted.

----

After class had ended, Sarah darted out of her seat and ran out into the hallway. She watched the students pass by through her eyes before the one she wanted smiled at her. "Hey Sarah! Can I ask you something?"

Sarah nodded at her friend "Sure Matt. What is it?"

As the couple walked, Matt said "You know how we have off tomorrow for Teachers' In Service?"

Sarah nodded.

Matt continued nervously "Alright, well, I'm kinda having this party at my house while my parents are away and Chad's gonna supervise for us. He's having his high school party on Friday, so I'm going tonight. I was just wandering if you wanted to come...uh...as my...date."

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. Had he really just asked her out? "Your what?"

Matt replied "I can understand if you don't want to, but I'm just saying that it was just a thought. I mean you can find your own date if you don't want, but-"

Sarah rolled her eyes and silenced him with "Matt, just shut up."

Matt turned a deep shade of red as he whispered "So..."

Sarah smiled "Of course I'll be your date. We're friends, so it won't be awkward or anything. Just a friendly night out, right?"

Matt smiled half heartedly and answered "Yeah, sure. Alright, the party starts at 6, so be at my house at 5:30 tonight, okay?"

Sarah linked her arm with his and walked down to their next class, which was Math. Matt moved his arm from around her arm to around her shoulders. Sarah smiled widely as she moved closer into his body. She finally felt at home.

----

...East High...

Troy slumped through the halls of East High on Monday, guilt flashing through his eyes. He knew that it was wrong to make Isabelle break up with Brandon on Friday, but he had no choice. Brandon couldn't be happy. The Montez either had a week of happiness and lived, or he could go more than a week or get himself killed by _him_.

Troy sighed. Isabelle had played hookie today, saying that she felt like throwing up at any second. She had also put cheap lip balm on to make her lips look pale and hadn't opened her eyelids more than halfway. She refused to eat and spent most of the morning in her room, not allowing anyone to come in except for Sarah. It was her room too, anyway.

Troy felt horrible about it, although he knew that it wasn't really his fault. He had no choice if he wanted Brandon alive. Enemies or not, Troy couldn't live without his ex-best friend.

Troy spun in the combination to his locker and got the books he needed for his first 5 classes, blocking out his surroundings. Everyone was coming up to him and asking where Isabelle was. Troy just simply replied to them all "Sick." What else was there to say?

Just as Troy closed his locker, a certain black haired enemy of his stomped up to him and demanded "Where is she Bolton?!"

Troy rolled his eyes "What are you talking about Montez? And who died and gave you permission to talk to me?"

Brandon ignored his last comment and hotly answered "You know EXACTLY who I'm talking about! Where's Isabelle?!"

Troy annoyingly replied "Sick. Now get away from my locker!"

He roughly shoved past Brandon and walked towards homeroom, only to be pushed against the lockers again. Brandon yelled in his face "What do you mean she's sick?! Be more specific you idiot!"

Troy slapped his hands away and spat "What more are you asking for Brandon?! Isabelle's sick! She looks dead and feels like throwing up! What more do you want me to say?!" I'm not a freakin' doctor! And since when do you give a damn?!"

The two had now attracted a crowd. They didn't even notice that they were now surrounded by a wave of students, including Gabriella and the gang.

Brandon scoffed "She didn't tell you, did she?"

Troy, whose face was now turning blood red, said "Tell me what?" He already knew exactly what Brandon was talking about, but he just didn't want it repeated.

Brandon evilly grinned "We're going out now. That little 'mall date' that she had with Sharpay on Friday was really a first date with me."

"Shut up..." Troy seethed, curling his fists until they were white.

Brandon continued "Oh, but you didn't even hear the best part! You know that little rainstorm that night? Well, that was just the start of the best part."

"I'm warning you Montez! Just shut up!" Troy growled, taking a step forward.

Brandon pretended not to notice and grinned "We ended up dancing for about 15 minutes until I saved her from what could've been a broken ankle. You know how I pull something close to me when it's about to fall?"

"Brandon, I swear to God, you say it and I'll-" Troy warned, but it was too late. Brandon finished "There was a moment. She thought that she wasn't over what happened at the dance with Josh, but I proved her wrong."

He took a step closer to a range-shaking Troy and whispered "The kiss lasted for about 5 minutes. You should've been there. It...was...hot."

Troy's jaw locked at this comment, trying not to lunge at him.

Brandon then concluded "Give it up Bolton. I won. Isabelle's in love with me. You...lost."

There was a 2 second pause before Brandon found himself on the floor, rubbing his throbbing jaw. Troy immediately kicked the defenseless teen in the back, hearing Brandon's screams fill his ears. Troy grabbed Brandon by the hair and dragged him to an opened locker. Brandon's head was placed inside it as Troy repeatedly slammed the door shut, but not enough to break his neck. After about the third time, Brandon grabbed Troy's hand and shoved it inside the locker. Troy didn't react fast enough. He slammed the door closed and howled in pain as he felt himself shut his fingers in the door.

Brandon grinned and reopened the locker that belonged to him. He grabbed Troy by the legs and dragged him over to the water fountain, letting his head fall against the lockers in the process. Brandon slammed Troy's head onto the surface of the water fountain and let the water blind him. He knew from past experience that Troy hated getting his eyes wet.

Troy screamed "STOP!!! TURN IT OFF!!! TURN IT OFF!!!"

Brandon rolled his eyes and dragged Troy's soaked head back to the awaiting students, cheering for either Brandon or Troy. Brandon threw Troy to the ground and started a traditional fight; punching him in the face.

Troy eventually gathered enough strength to push Brandon off of him and kicked him in his sensitive area. Brandon sunk to the ground and moaned in pain, giving Troy the advantage to give him the same torture. He punched and punched, even with his bad hand. When the pain in his hand eventually became too much for him to handle, he started giving Brandon sharp kicks in the lung area that was sure to cut off his oxygen supply. When Brandon looked like he was about to start suffocating, Troy stopped and just threw the beaten teen into the crowd. The students in that area were obviously on Troy's side as they just let him crash to the ground. With that, Brandon fell unconscious.

Troy stared at him, close to tears. He couldn't believe that he had just broken his promise to himself. He had promised himself that he wouldn't fight Brandon again until Isabelle left, but he just did. He couldn't believe it.

Taking one last look around him, Troy took off down the hall, through the doors, and out of the school, not planning on returning.

----

...That Night (5:30)...

Sarah took one last look at herself in the mirror, figuring that she looked presentable. It was finally time for Matt's party and though she had no reason to be, Sarah couldn't help but be nervous. She was going as Matt's date and it was really nerve-wracking when you were going to party with one of your best guy friends. Especially one as hot as Matt.

Sarah sighed one last time and grabbed her purse, walking out the door. Olivia was out working a double shift, Troy's parents were out at dinner with friends, Troy was at basketball practice, and Isabelle was out with Brandon somewhere. So Sarah's last option was Gabriella. She knocked on Gabriella's door and sweetly asked "Gabby, are you busy?"

Gabriella shook her head and smiled "Nope. Just doing homework for next week. Why?"

Sarah answered "Can you take me to Chad's house for Matt's party?"

"You were invited? I thought that was an all guys party."

Sarah quarried "All guys? Where'd you get that from?"

"Chad."

"Oh. That figures."

Gabriella giggled "Yeah, wasn't very smart listening to him, was it?"

"Yeah, and that's coming from someone who's doing homework for next week." Sarah smiled back.

Gabriella replied "Oh shut up. Anyways, sure I'll take you. Just give me a few minutes. I can't be seen dressed like this." She pointed to her Hollister t-shirt, pajama pants, and bunny slippers. Sarah laughed at her outfit.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be seen with you either."

"I take offense to that!" Gabriella joked, bringing her hand to her chest for dramatic effect.

Sarah rolled her eyes and stepped out of Gabriella's room to let her change. She thought to herself _"Maybe I'll use Gabby as my role model for my project..."_

----

...Chad's House...

"GABBY!!! HELP!!! IT'S ATTACK OF THE 7th GRADERS!!!" Chad screamed as he saw Gabriella and Sarah pull up to his house. Gabriella rolled her eyes and replied "Oh, man up! What would Taylor think of you?"

That shut him up.

Sarah giggled "Stop fighting you two. Now, where's Matt?"

"Follow the booming music." Chad simply answered. Sarah nodded and walked inside to the party.

"So how'd it go after practice?" Gabriella asked Chad, referring to him asking Taylor out.

Chad sighed "I don't know. She didn't answer me yet," He came over and sat beside her on the hood of her car. "I'm scared Gabby. What if she says no? That'll totally screw up our friendship."

Gabriella placed a hand on his shoulder and comforted "That's the kind of thinking that'll jinx everything and make her say no. You need to stay positive and not get all worked up about it. And I happen to know for a fact that she likes you back."

"Really? Then how come she just said 'I'll think about it Chad'?"

Gabriella shrugged "She tells me that all she wants is for you to ask her out, but she knows that it'll never happen. I guess she's just shocked that you made her dreams come true."

Chad smiled and thanked "Thanks Gabby." With a hug.

"Anytime."

----

Sarah stepped into the house and her mouth dropped. She could barely even see through to the other side of the room. Students of East Middle packed the room, dancing and talking with their friends. Sarah pushed and shoved her way past the crowd and smiled when she found Andrea dancing up a storm with Michelle Anderson, the girl that got her butt smacked by Jimmy.

"ANDREA!!!" Sarah screamed to her best friend.

Andrea looked up and beamed "SARAH!!! YOU MADE IT!!!" The two embraced in a tight hug and Andrea laughed "That outfit looks amazing on you!"

"Thanks! The shirt's from Hot Topic, the jeans are from Aeropostale, and the jacket's obviously from Hollister! You look awesome too!"

"Thanks! Shirt's from Pink Ice, shorts are from Hollister, and the boots are from Wet Seal! I guess we both have the same taste!"

They shared one more laugh before someone wrapped their arms around their shoulders and groaned "No girl talk in my house ladies or I'll kick you out!"

Andrea rolled her eyes "Shut up Matt! This is crucial stuff that airheads like you wouldn't understand!"

Sarah grinned "Great party Matt. Thanks for inviting me."

Matt replied "No problem. Anything for my two best girls." Sarah blushed.

"Wanna go dance?" Matt asked her.

Sarah couldn't speak. She just nodded as Matt led her to the center of the dance floor. Go Girl came on and Sarah exclaimed "Oh my God! I love this song!"

Matt joked "Well then go ahead and dance! Go girl!"

Sarah rolled her eyes at the irony, but smiled all the same.

The hours passed and Matt and Sarah were still dancing like crazy. They seemed to be the only two out on the dance floor as people just watched them, cheering them on. With every song that passed, the two got closer and closer and making the heat rise. Sweat dripped off of their bodies, drenching their clothes. But they didn't care. They just stared into each other's eyes the entire time.

"God, it's getting hot, isn't it?" Sarah gasped, trying to breathe.

Matt nodded tiredly "Yeah, we've been dancing for so long."

Sarah replied "I tried drinking water, but it won't work. How do we cool off?"

Matt looked around for a little bit before grinning "Wanna go for a walk?"

----

Sarah and Matt laughed again and again as they approached the lake. They've been walking for 2 hours now and neither noticed the time passing by so quickly. They talked about any random thing that came to their minds and there hasn't been one awkward silence between them. They were chatting like an old married couple.

"...So Kyle was pissing Arthur off so much, Arthur grabbed his pencil and chucked it back at Kyle's head! Kyle screamed like a little girl, ducked, and the pencil tip ended up getting stuck in the wall instead! God, it was so hilarious!" Sarah laughed, replying the events on what happened in her German class that day.

Matt replied "Holy crap, did he get in trouble?"

Sarah nodded "He had to write 'I will not throw dangerous items in class at others' 75 times! If he didn't finish, he got a week of lunch detention!"

Matt and Sarah laughed at the event for a few moments before Matt said "I had a great time tonight. Thanks for coming."

Sarah grinned "Your very welcome. I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Matt flashed a quick smile before leaning down and planting a soft kiss on Sarah's cheek. She froze as she felt electricity running through her veins at the speed of light.

Matt suggested "Come on. I told Chad to give a quick check of downstairs at 10:30 and it's 10:25 now."

Sarah nodded shakily and stuttered "Y-yeah. We better g-get going."

Matt smiled, grabbed Sarah's hand, and the two ran back to the Danforth residence, not ignoring the connection they felt when their hands touched.

* * *

**Yay! What do you think's in story for Sarah and Matt? Is Brandon gonna find out about Austin? Is Austin gonna find out about Brandon? What's Troy's problem now? REVIEW and find out :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Trivia:**

**- When Matt and Sarah were taking a walk, the German thing actually happened. Arthur was pissed at Kyle in German class a few days ago, so he threw his pencil at him and ended up getting it stuck in the wall :D That was his punishment too, except for the lunch detention**

**- When I was writing the paragraph about Austin, I couldn't think of a last name for him. I was listening to Keyshia Cole while writing it, so I just shrugged and put Cole in for his last name :)**

**- Gabriella wasn't supposed to drive Sarah to Matt's party. She was planned to walk.**

**- Lots of people say that I look like Monique Coleman, so Andrea's supposed to look like me. Check the icon in my pro to see what "Andrea" looks like :)**

----

**REVIEW!!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: The song Go Girl is "sung" (rapped) by Pitbull. Just thought you'd like to know...**


	26. Famous Last Words

**WARNING: VERY SUCKY CHAPTER!!**

**Sorry guys, I'm really out of it, so this chapter jumps all over the place, meaning that it really sucks. It mainly talks about stuff that's gonna happen next chapter, so be prepared for that. It's a really fast chapter where things happen very quickly and unexplained (sort of). You'll learn half of Troy's reason in the beginning of this chapter, but you won't know who's doing it (You'll know what I mean when you read it)**

**Again, sorry for the sucky chapter that you're about to read. I'm really tired and out of it :(**

**Chapter 25 – Famous Last Words**

Isabelle's one week was up and Troy almost didn't even notice. He was too busy cursing himself for hurting his closest cousin. Sarah and everyone else except Gabriella were completely oblivious to the fact that Troy had done that, but it was for everyone's own good. Brandon couldn't be happy. He couldn't.

Troy sighed as he watched Isabelle trying not to cry. She caught his gaze and glared hard at him, shrugging him off. Troy closed his eyes and blocked out what Ms. Enders was saying for the rest of the period. He was way too heartbroken to pay attention, anyway.

--

After class ended, Troy dashed out of his seat and waited out in the hallway. Not for Gabriella, but for Isabelle. He had to make things right with her before she moved back to California. If that happened, he would probably never get the chance to apologize.

He finally saw her sulk out of the classroom with her eyes fixed on the ground. Troy smiled at her and called "Hey, Izzy! Wait up!"

This just made the blonde speed up and turn the corner quickly, leaving Troy to sigh to himself again. The silent treatment. Of course. Now he knew how Brandon felt. He didn't want to, but Troy couldn't help but feel bad for his worst enemy. He also hated lying to him for five years. But he couldn't give in to Brandon now. He had to obey his commands and stay strong. No matter how much it was killing him inside.

Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed Troy and dragged him into a janitor's closet. After being thrown to the ground and hearing the door slam and lock, Troy looked up and groaned when he saw who stood in front of him.

"What did I do wrong now?" he asked annoyingly, standing up and brushing himself off.

"You let that bastard get together with your COUSIN?!" the mystery man screamed to Troy, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him against the wall.

"Calm down!" Troy shouted back, pushing the man off "I told her that she had to break up with him in a week, which is today. So cool off and let me get to biology."

"Oh no you don't!" The man resisted as he blocked the door. Troy once again groaned as he spat sarcastically "What?! I've been doing this for five years! I think I know what I'm doing!"

"Good. Then you know what happens when you get me upset..." the man slyly said, pulling off his belt.

Troy's eyes widened. He knew exactly what the belt meant. He slowly pulled off his shirt and dropped to his knees, closing his eyes tightly as the metal buckle came in contact with his skin multiple times.

"You're just as bad as him..." the man crooned, hitting Troy again.

"It wasn't his fault." Troy whispered, biting back another cry.

"The hell it wasn't! He murdered my daughter, so he's gonna pay for it!" the man seethed, ripping Troy's skin again with the belt.

"How was Brandon supposed to know?!" Troy loudly protested, fisting his hands from the pain. "He broke up with her, so she went off and committed suicide! It was her own fault!"

Troy screamed as an angry foot kicked him to the floor and forcefully held him down. "My...stomp...daughter...stomp...wouldn't...stomp...do...stomp...such...stomp...a...stomp...thing! How dare you!"

Troy silently let his tears free and tried his best to muffle his sobs. He heard the bell for sixth period ring in his ears, but the man didn't care. Of all times, Troy actually _wanted_ to go to class. It was his only escape from this.

"Whatever. I'm sorry." Troy seethed, covering up the shakiness in his voice with coughs.

"No you're not," the man disagreed, wrapping his hands around Troy's neck and pressing him against the wall. "You're just saying that to escape dying. Don't lie to me, Bolton."

"I'm not lying. I'm sorry that this was the result of your daughter dying. But I've been telling you for five years. It wasn't Brandon's fault!" Troy replied, feeling the man's grip tightening around his neck.

"Don't you ever bring her up again!" The man screamed in his face, squeezing his neck dangerously. Troy tensed, holding his breath in his lungs. He closed his eyes and held in the tears that he refused to let this monster see.

"Get out of my sight!" the man ordered, throwing Troy to the ground again. Troy nodded, grabbing his shirt and throwing it over his head. He unlocked the door and started for his next class in tears. But he couldn't finish. His legs collapsed as he slid down the lockers, burying his head in his knees. He just sat there, crying his eyes out at the thought of that damned man actually laying a finger on his ex-best friend. He and Brandon might have grown apart, but Troy could barely stand to see him hurt. He felt horrible during and after every single fight they've ever had, but he couldn't let it show. It would show weakness. And Troy Bolton, for one, was _never_ weak.

--

Brandon and Isabelle, now on their fifth date that week, lay at the lake, staring up at the stars in each other's arms. Brandon lie there thinking about the teen next to him while Isabelle was worried out of her mind. She would have to break up with Brandon tonight, weather she liked it or not. It was for everyone's own good.

Isabelle piped up "Brandon, what if I left?"

"Are you?" Brandon replied worriedly.

Isabelle shook her head. "I hope not. I want to stay with you."

Brandon just smiled down at her and leaned in, closing the small space between them. Isabelle parted first, whispering "I love you." _"What am I doing?"_ she mentally cursed herself.

"I love you, too. No one can come between us. Not even Troy."

At the mention of her over-protective cousin, Isabelle tried to hold in her tears unsuccessfully. She buried her head in her boyfriend's chest and let her tears soak his shirt. Brandon noticed and just stroked her back, trying to calm her down.

"Brandon, there's something I should tell you." Isabelle murmured, not leaving her spot on his chest.

"What is it?" Brandon replied, looking down at her lovingly.

Isabelle took in a deep breath before trying "I have to-"

"_We are broken, what must we do to restore, our innocence, and all the promise we adore, give us life again, cause we just wanna be whole..."_

Isabelle groaned as her cell phone rang in their ears. She flipped it open and answered "Hello?"

"I-Izzy?" Olivia replied, sounding scared. "Honey, I need you to come home."

"Mom..." Isabelle whined back "I'm busy right now. Can't I come home later?"

"No sweetie, this is urgent. I need you home in five minutes."

"But, mom-"

"That's an order Isabelle!" Isabelle cringed. Her mother never called her Isabelle unless she was in deep trouble or something really bad happened.

"Fine. I'll see you in a few minutes." Isabelle finally gave in, hanging up. She turned to Brandon and said "My mom wants me home. Apparently something happened."

"Something bad?"

"I don't know," Isabelle replied, pulling herself off of Brandon's lap and automatically missing his warmth. "Can you take me home?"

Brandon nodded and stood up, taking hold of Isabelle's hand with a loving smile. The two walked back to Brandon's car hand in hand, unknowingly reminiscing the last moments they had together.

--

Isabelle stepped though the doors to her temporary home with a heavy heart. She couldn't find the courage to break up with Brandon and she knew that Troy would eventually find out on Monday. Brandon would waltz right up to her and give her a morning kiss. They were both dead.

She sighed and walked into the living room expecting to see her mother sitting on the couch, but instead her mouth dropped. Sarah was sitting next to Gabriella in tears, sobbing against the teen's chest. Gabriella stroked her back and held her in her arms, close to tears herself. Sarah fisted Gabriella's sleeve and cried "It's not fair! It's not fair!"

Gabriella replied "I know, Sarah. I know. But you have to be strong, okay?"

Sarah didn't reply. She just buried her head in the brunette's shoulder again, crying her eyes out.

"What's going on?" Isabelle asked generally, feeling a knot form in the bottom of her stomach. Whatever was happening couldn't be good.

"Sweetie," Olivia carefully started "Take a seat. We need to talk."

This really had Isabelle worried. First, the call and now this. Either she knew about the F Isabelle got on her biology quiz or she found out about Brandon. _How could she take Troy's side in this_? She thought to herself angrily. Did she not care about her side of the story at all? Brandon saved her from traumatic _rape_, for God's sake!

She slowly sat down next to Sarah and assisted Gabriella in helping her sister calm down. She gave her mother a look to start talking.

"Okay," Olivia started nervously "I've finally made enough money for a new house and everything in it. You know how I told you about that property that I was looking at a week ago?"

Isabelle nodded. "Yeah, you said that you wanted the house to be there instead of back in California. Why?"

Olivia took a deep breath and answered "Someone bought the property before I could get the chance. That's the only place that was up for sale in Albuquerque. I'm sorry honey, but we're going to have to...move back to California."

Isabelle froze. She stared at her mother with an empty look in her eyes and her body fell numb. Was she hearing right?

"W-what?" the blonde stuttered, hearing Sarah cry more tears.

"We're moving back to California. I'm so sorry hon-"

"When?!" Isabelle demanded, feeling the hot tears rush to her eyes. Her body shook with rage. She couldn't believe this.

"Tomorrow morning. Honey, you have to understand that-" Olivia tried, but it was too late. Isabelle left the group and ran up the stairs in tears, one thought running through her mind.

Brandon.

--

It was now 11:30 that night and Troy and Gabriella were still trying to get Isabelle to come out of her room. She wouldn't even let Sarah in the room, even though it was her room too.

"Izzy, come on! Open the door!" Gabriella called, pounding on her door. Troy groaned "Gabby, just leave it. She'll have to come around eventually."

Gabriella sighed in defeat and pressed her back against the door. She noticed that a string from her shirt caught onto the doorknob. She tried to free herself, but only succeeded in ripping the shirt a little.

"Dammit. Stupid shirt." She muttered under her breath in frustration.

Once she finally removed her shirt from the doorknob, it twisted. Gabriella looked up in confusion as the door opened.

"The door was open this whole time?" Troy asked in shock.

"Two hours of trying to open it wasted, I guess." Gabriella groaned. The couple walked in the room, only to find it clean and...empty. Isabelle's bags lay full across her room. She was all packed and ready to go.

"Where is she?" Gabriella asked, looking around the room.

"I don't know. It's like she was never here." Troy answered, just as confused as his girlfriend.

"This isn't good. What if she...oh no." The brunette gasped, looking at the opposite side of the room.

"What?"

"Look..." Gabriella whispered, pointing to the window. The _opened_ window.

"Oh God. No." Troy ran over to the window and looked down, not seeing any sign of his cousin. He did, however, find a note attached to the glass. He ripped the note off and opened it, reading

_Guys,_

_I really can't believe I'm moving. This is just way too much to handle for one night. I'm not going to tell you where I am, but I will tell you that I'm safe. I'm on the block, so don't come looking for me. I'll be back in the morning._

_- Izzy_

Troy put the note down and sighed. Gabriella took the note from his hands and read over it. Once she was done, she looked up at her boyfriend and stated "There's only one place she would be."

Troy nodded "Taylor's out with Chad and Sharpay's at her grandparent's house. That only leaves..."

Troy and Gabriella both finished in unison "Brandon."

--

Isabelle ran down the street to the one place she could think of. She had to get away from all the hassle at her temporary home and be with the one who wouldn't give her any crap. She had to find Brandon.

She ran to Gabriella's house and climbed up the tree to her balcony. She had never been to the Montez house, but she had heard Troy talking about climbing up the tree and getting to Gabriella's room. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Once she had silently reached the balcony, she crept through the room in search of the door that lead to the hallway. When she finally found it, she searched the hallway for a clue that would lead her to Brandon's room. Knowing that he was a deep sleeper, she was about to turn on the hallway light when she heard a groan coming from behind a door. She turned her teary face in the direction of the noise and stepped toward the room. She peered inside the pitch black room and faintly smiled when she saw Brandon's outline in his bed.

The blonde walked towards his bed and crawled in next to him carefully. He didn't budge. She laid her head on his bare chest. Nothing. It wasn't until she took a deep breath of warm air that he stirred and opened his eyes with another moan. He tried to get up, but found that he couldn't. Brandon looked around until his eyes fell on Isabelle, who was looking at his ridiculously toned body. At least being at war with Troy had a few perks.

"Izzy, what are you doing here?" Brandon groggily, but worriedly, whispered.

Isabelle tried to hold in her tears as she answered. "Brandon, I'm moving."

Brandon's mouth dropped as he replied. "What?! You can't! You promised that you wouldn't!"

Isabelle let a tear loose. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't want this, but it has to happen. My mom has no other choice."

Brandon sighed and stroked her hair. He sadly asked "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," Isabelle answered, her voice quivering. "C-can you come to Troy's house tomorrow to say goodbye?"

Brandon didn't answer right away. He looked at his girlfriend with hesitant eyes until his face cracked into a light smile. "Sure. I'm really gonna miss you, Izzy."

Isabelle was now sobbing. "Me too. I love you so much."

Brandon kissed her lips once before taking her into his chest, trying to calm her down. He rubbed her back and whispered comforting words in her ears. After 2 hours, he finally felt her fall limp in his chest. As he gazed down at her sleeping figure, Brandon kissed her forehead and whispered "I'm always right here, Izzy. I love you."

--

Gabriella sat on Troy's lap in his bedroom, thinking. Isabelle ran away from home for a night and no one, except her and Troy, knew. They thought that she was just sulking in her room like any normal teenager would. But Gabriella knew the truth. And she also had something else on her mind.

"Troy?" She suddenly piped up, breaking the comfortable silence that had passed between them for at least 15 minutes now.

"Hmm?" he mumbled tiredly.

"How long have I been here living with you?"

"I don't know. About three weeks. Why?"

Gabriella sighed "I think I should go back home."

Troy sat up straight and alert, almost knocking Gabriella off of him. "You _what_?!"

"Troy, it's been three weeks. Brandon's probably a wreck right now. He needs me, especially since Isabelle's moving. Now he has no one to turn to."

"He's got other friends to cry to."

"Troy…"

Troy looked like he was about to say something else, but he just closed his mouth in defeat. "Fine, you're right. It's not like you're moving out of the country or anything."

Gabriella giggled "Thank you. Plus, I think my mom's starting to get suspicious. She was out of town for about two weeks and Brandon's probably running out of excuses by now."

Troy nodded in understanding. He laid his head in Gabriella's shoulder and muttered "When are you thinking about leaving?"

"I don't know," Gabriella replied, playing with the hem of his shirt "Tomorrow after the Johnson's leave."

Troy groaned and dropped his shoulders, closing his eyes. "Tomorrow's gonna suck ass..."

Gabriella kissed his cheek and argued "No it's not. I'll move back home and then we'll get the whole gang together for a day out. How about that?"

Troy's face broke out into a small smile. He pecked her lips once and smiled "I guess that sounds better."

Gabriella nodded. "I knew it would." Afterwards, she curled up into Troy's lap and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. Troy did the same around her waist and rested his head against her forehead. "I love you, Gabby."

"I love you too, Troy."

The two closed their eyes and before they knew it, they were asleep, feeling all of their problems fading away.

--

Gabriella and Troy sighed as they packed the last of Isabelle's bags into the moving truck. There was still no sign of the blonde that morning. They knew that she was still at Brandon's house, but they couldn't help but worry. What if she didn't come back at all?

"Troy, do you think that Izzy's gonna show up?" Gabriella asked as she closed the door to the truck.

Troy replied "She has to. She doesn't have a choice."

"Yeah, but what if she hides out at Brandon's house or something?"

"Gabby, let's be realistic for a second please. She knows that we know where she is, so what's stopping us from going down there and getting her? Plus you're going home anyway. You can just 'take her shopping', you'll drive, and instead of the mall, just drive here."

Gabriella sighed. "I guess you're right. I still can't help but worry about her, though..."

Troy took his girlfriend in his arms, kissed her forehead, and answered "There's nothing to worry about. I bet she's walking back right this second."

As if on cue, Brandon and Isabelle came driving up to the Bolton house in Brandon's car. Troy's face fell as he stared at his worst enemy getting out of the car and opening Isabelle's door for her. Gabriella sensed this. She walked in front of Troy and watched the couple walk to the crowd, Brandon dragging his feet behind Isabelle.

"Isabelle Marie Johnson, where have you been?!" Olivia scolded.

Isabelle answered dully. "I was spending my last night here with my boyfriend, Mom." Gabriella felt Troy's hand squeeze tighter around her own. She gulped.

Olivia's teeth were suddenly clenched as tight as her fists. "What boyfriend?!" Olivia demanded, not noticing Brandon.

Brandon raised his hand and whispered nervously. "That would...um...be m-me."

Troy closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to lose control.

"What's your name?" Olivia asked, crossing her arms.

"B-Brandon Montez." Brandon answered, stealing a glance towards Gabriella.

"Montez?" Olivia repeated, looking at Gabriella calmly, "Isn't that your last name, Gabriella?"

Gabriella nodded, staring at Brandon. "Yeah. Brandon's my twin brother."

"Then why were you living with-"

"That's not important right now, Aunt Olivia," Troy suddenly snapped, glaring at Brandon. "I'll tell you later when Brandon _leaves_." Brandon returned the glare as he felt Isabelle gripped his bicep tighter.

"Oh, okay." Olivia said, watching the two boys give each other death glares in confusion. "Sarah, go get your stuff."

Sarah gave a watery nod as she stepped inside the house to retrieve her bags. She called "Mom, can you help me with this one?"

"Sure, sweetie." Olivia replied, running into the house. That only left Troy, Gabriella, Brandon, Isabelle, and Troy's parents.

"What are you doing here, Montez?" Troy seethed, tightening his grip on Gabriella's hand.

"Saying goodbye to my girlfriend, Bolton. Why do you care?"

"Because you're on my property and I would highly appreciate it if you get the hell out of here!" Troy spat, taking a step forward.

Lucy interrupted the fight with "Boys, boys, stop it! Not here! Control yourselves!"

Brandon, still glaring at Troy, mumbled "Sorry, Mrs. Bolton..."

Lucy nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Brandon." He replied with a tight, awkward smile before returning his hateful eyes back to Troy.

Olivia and Sarah stepped out of the houses with Sarah's bags. Sarah smiled at the crowd in front of her and placed her bags neatly in the back of the truck. She sighed and was about to get in the car, but a car off to the side caught her attention first. She gasped when Chad, Taylor, Andrea, and Matt stepped out of Chad's car, smiling at Sarah. Sarah ran to her friends and asked "What are you guys doing here?"

Matt shrugged. "What, we can't say goodbye to our best friend?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and turned to Andrea, saying "How'd you find out I was moving back to California?"

Andrea answered "Troy and Gabriella called up the whole gang. We're really going to miss you, Sarah."

Sarah hugged her friend tightly and replied "I'll miss you too, Andrea. Thanks for being my best friend here."

When the two girls pulled apart, Matt stepped up to her and sighed "Well, I guess this is it."

Sarah nodded "Yeah, I guess so. I'm...uh...gonna miss you, too, Matt."

Matt smiled. "Same here. It's been fun, Sarah. Bye." With that said, the younger Danforth pulled Sarah into a friendly, but tight, hug. Sarah automatically hugged him back, never wanting to let go. When he pulled away, he just smiled at her one last time before turning away. Sarah stood there, looking at the ground before calling "Matt, wait!"

As soon as Matt turned around, he felt a pair of lips on his own. As quickly as it happened, it ended. Sarah muttered a "Goodbye." Before turning and running back to her family and friends, shocked at her last action. Matt's frozen face finally melted into a satisfied grin. He shoved his hands in his pockets and waltzed over to Chad, who was staring at his younger brother with interest.

"What?" Matt asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know exactly what," Chad smiled, slinging an arm around his younger brother "My bro's a playboy."

Meanwhile, Isabelle was hugging Brandon as though her life depended on it.

"I never wanna let go, Brandon." Isabelle cried into his chest.

Brandon stroked her hair while replying "Me neither. But we've got to be strong and act mature, okay? We're gonna be okay?"

Isabelle nodded and wiped her damp eyes. She looked over at Troy, who was helplessly standing next to Gabriella and staring at the ground.

"_Speaking of acting mature..."_ she thought to herself as she walked over to her cousin. She just stood there, staring at the ground while Troy looked up at her, confusion flashing through his eyes.

He finally sighed. "Izzy, I'm sor-"

But he couldn't finish. Isabelle ran up to Troy and wrapped her arms around him, muttering "No Troy. _I'm_ sorry."

"For what?" Troy replied, hugging her back.

Isabelle replied "For this past week. I've been a total bitch about what happened and I just want you to know that it isn't your fault. You were just doing what was best for everybody. I'm sorry for not realizing that sooner."

Troy broke apart and stared into her eyes, grinning. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

Isabelle giggled "Thanks, Troy. I'll miss you." She just hugged him tighter.

After a few good moments of hugging, Troy piped up "See you this summer?"

Isabelle smiled "Count on it."

Troy let Isabelle go and watched her walk back over to Brandon, who was trying to hold in his tears. She sighed "Brandon, do you think that this whole long distance thing is gonna work out?"

Brandon closed his eyes and reluctantly answered "I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I think that we should-"

"Break up, I know. Long distance relationships never work out anyways and I don't want to see you get hurt again. I don't want to, but do we really have a choice?"

Brandon shook his head "I guess not. It's been fun though."

Isabelle nodded "Yeah, it has. One last hug before I go?"

Brandon didn't reply. He just brought her into his arms one last time. He whispered "I really do love you Izzy. Never forget that."

Isabelle again nodded "Me too. Stay cool, okay? And don't kill my cousin!"

Brandon smiled playfully "I don't intend to."

Olivia called "Okay people! We gotta get going!"

Isabelle turned back to Brandon and said "I'll call you as soon as I get home! I promise!"

Brandon nodded "I won't turn my phone off today. Bye!"

Isabelle waved and got into the truck, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked back at the house that she called home for the past month and smiled. It truly was an adventure.

As the truck started, a pink convertible came rolling up to the house and a very frantic Sharpay and Ryan ran out, waving their arms and shouting "IZZY!!! WAIT!!!"

Isabelle got out of the truck against her mother's wishes and ran up to her friends. "Why'd you guys get here so late? You almost missed us."

Sharpay smiled "You left this at my house from earlier this week." She handed Isabelle a velvet box with a diamond necklace inside. Isabelle sighed "Thanks. I would've died if I forgot this. Thanks Sharpay. I'll miss you."

Sharpay pulled her into a tight hug while whispering "Same here. Bye, sis."

Isabelle moved on to Ryan and joked "Bye, Ry. Stay cool and keep those hips shakin'."

Ryan rolled his eyes but laughed all the same as he wrapped his arms around his friend, replying "As long as you call us the second you get there."

Isabelle nodded. She gave one last smile as she walked back over to the truck. Her mother fumed "Are we all done with our goodbyes?"

Isabelle nodded "Yeah, we're good. I'm gonna miss this place."

Sarah agreed "Yeah, it really did feel like home for a while."

Olivia smiled at her daughters. As the Johnson's took off down the road, the two looked back at their friends. Brandon waved at Isabelle while mouthing "I love you."

Sarah watched Matt shout "You're the most awesome person ever, Sarah!" Sarah just blushed and waved back, blowing a kiss his way. Out of all of them, he was the one she would miss the most. She knew that he hadn't been her first love or anything; they were too young to know anything about what Isabelle and Brandon felt for each other. But they were closer than most junior high couples. They were close to love. Not terribly close, but close enough for them. And it would take them both a while to figure that out.

Back with the gang, everyone except for Troy, Gabriella, and Brandon had gone inside the house. Gabriella whispered something in Troy's ear before descending off into the house, leaving Troy and Brandon. Alone.

The tension in the air rose. The two kept stealing glances at one another until Brandon mumbled "See you at school, Bolton."

As he walked back to his car, Troy called "Montez!"

Brandon froze and turned around, trying not to glare at him. Troy gave him a powerful look until he said "Thanks for saying goodbye to her."

Brandon didn't reply right away. He only stared at his ex-best friend with false fire in his eyes. He had to hide the tears somehow.

He finally answered "Whatever. I'm leaving." Before Troy could respond, Brandon hopped inside his car and sped off down the road, not once looking back.

Troy watched him leave with sorrow. He closed his eyes and let out a huge, but quiet sigh, whispering "I'm trying, Brandon. I'm sorry." With that, he walked inside his house, not wanting to deal with the memories outside his own home.

**Didn't I tell you that it sucked? I think the "spark" kinda comes back in this chapter, but I could be wrong. Like I said, I'm really out of it. But I promise you that I'll do better next chapter! :) REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**~Rachel :)**

**Sneak at Next Chapter:**

**- Gabriella moves back home**

_**"What are you doing here?" Brandon asked, completely shocked.**_

_**"I live here, don't I?" Gabriella joked back, giving her brother a smile.**_

**- Brandon overhears Troy talking to Chad about Isabelle**

_**"Chad, I had to do it. Brandon couldn't be happy, so I had to get rid of the one thing that he had left." Troy replied shamefully.**_

_**"YOU DID **_**WHAT**_**?!" came a very angry voice behind Troy.**_

**Trivia:**

**- Gabriella was supposed to move back home this chapter, but the chapter was getting too long**

**- When Isabelle was over at Brandon's house, Isabelle was supposed to fall asleep automatically. Brandon was supposed to wake up later and find Isabelle there**

**- The title of the chapter was named after the My Chemical Romance song "Famous Last Words" I just thought that there were a lot of lasts in this chapter. The Johnson's last day at the Bolton house, Gabriella's last day, Isabelle and Brandon's last kiss, the last meeting for the gang, ect...**

**- Isabelle's ringtone is the chorus to "We Are Broken" by Paramore**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	27. What Have You Done

**Hey! I'm feeling very good right now! The spark comes back in this chapter! Not completely, but it's here! That makes me very happy! **

**Oh yeah. And the end of this chapter's a cliffhanger. Sorry! I'll update soon though :)**

* * *

"Okay, you got everything?" Troy asked Gabriella as they sat in his car.

This was it. Gabriella was officially moving out of the Bolton house and going back home. All of her bags were in the backseat and Troy kept asking her questions just to get her to stay longer. He didn't want to see her leave. Especially not right after Isabelle and Sarah left.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and sighed "Yes Troy, everything's in the backseat. Can we _please_ leave now?!"

Troy groaned "I don't want you to leave Gabby."

Gabriella pecked his lips and replied "I know you don't Troy, but it's not like I'm moving out of Albuquerque. I'm only a few minutes away."

Troy threw his head back in the seat and sighed "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm still gonna miss it though."

Gabriella agreed "Me too. Now come on. I wanna get home before my mom does."

Troy nodded and started the car. He took Gabriella's hand in his. Gabriella smiled at him and looked out the window, enjoying the comfortable silence between them.

...Brandon at the Montez House...

Brandon stood at the counter in his kitchen, finishing off his algebra homework. It's been 8 hours since Isabelle moved away and truthfully, Brandon expected worse of himself. He thought that he would be locked in his room crying his eyes out but in reality, he was fine. A little heart broken, but he was doing okay.

The teen sighed and closed his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake Troy's last words from his mind. Troy had actually thanked Brandon for saying goodbye to Isabelle instead of turning him inside out. He had really surprised Brandon. Maybe he really didn't hate him after all.

Brandon was stolen from his thoughts by the front door opening. He looked back down at his homework and was in the middle of the last equation when he greeted "Hey mom. How was work?"

"I don't have a job." Came a soft giggle.

Brandon's head snapped up. His breath hitched in his throat as he watched Gabriella walk over to the counter with a true, genuine smile. "Hey bro." she grinned.

"Gabby, what are you doing here?" Brandon asked, astonished.

Gabriella shrugged "I live here, don't I?"

Brandon's eyes didn't show any sign of laughter. "I'm serious Gabby. What happened to Troy's house?"

Gabriella sighed and walked around the counter so that she was standing right beside Brandon. She looked down at his homework and answered "I don't know. I guess I figured that you've had enough of all of this and now that Isabelle's gone, I don't want you to go off and do something...you know...stupid."

Brandon smiled at his sister. He said "Are you sure? I mean, I punched you."

Gabriella replied "You were angry. I forgave you for that last week. I just wanted to give you a little more time to get used to me and Troy being together."

Brandon gave her a warm, loving smile. Feeling tears of happiness well up in his eyes, he pulled Gabriella into a tight hug, whispering "Good to have you home Gabby."

Gabriella murmured "It's good to be home. I missed you."

"Same here."

Gabriella pulled apart from her brother and asked "Anyway, what did you tell mom?"

Brandon ran a hand through his long bangs and recalled "I told her that you had a big project for Spanish and it would take a week to do. You, Sharpay, and Taylor were over at Shar's house working on it since her house has more room. She was on that 2 week business trip so I didn't have to say anything. But there is this one thing that happened..."

"What?" Gabriella said, worried about getting caught.

Brandon answered "Mom came home late and thought that you were home by then. So she went up to your room to check on you."

Gabriella gasped "Oh my God, are you serious?! What happened?"

Brandon reassured "Michael was over, so I distracted mom while he put on a wig and pretended to be you. Man, you should've seen him in your pajama's."

"HE WAS IN MY CLOTHES?!" Gabriella demanded.

Brandon sheepishly replied "Uhh...yeah. The pink ones."

"BRANDON!!" Gabriella nearly screamed, mortified and disgusted.

Brandon rolled his eyes at her "Calm down Gabby. It was only for about 15 minutes. He changed and climbed down your balcony."

Gabriella groaned "I'm throwing out those pajamas..."

Brandon patted her head and commented "You do that. He didn't shower that day anyway."

Gabriella pretended to gag while Brandon just laughed "Drama queen..."

Gabriella hugged him one last time and said "Thanks so much for covering. I'm so sorry for leaving."

Brandon rubbed her back "It wasn't your fault. Like you said, he hates me, not you."

Gabriella pulled away, crossed her arms, and said "Brandon, for the millionth time, he doesn't hate you."

"Prove it."

"I can't. I promised Troy."

Brandon sighed in defeat and said "Whatever. But you know that I'll find out eventually."

Gabriella nodded "Oh, I know that you will. Just not now."

Brandon smiled "Thanks. Need any help with your bags?"

Gabriella nodded "Yeah, this one. I had to drag it up the stairs."

Brandon walked over to the bag and lifted it with ease. Even though her back was to him, Brandon smiled at Gabriella. He may have lost a loved one that day, but he had also reclaimed another. And it was the best feeling in the world.

...Monday...

The class groaned again. Ms. Darbus was ranting about the importance of not having cell phones in class after Amy got caught texting. She looked over at Brandon and mouthed "Sorry." Brandon shrugged and mouthed "It's okay." Amy smiled and turned back around. The two had officially broken up for the last time after Brandon told her his feelings about Isabelle. She understood fully. They were now just close friends and nothing more.

"...So Ms. Hartzler will be spending a week's worth of detention because of her barbaric and rude behavior towards her classmates and to me. Anyone want to join her painting sets?"

Silence.

"Good," Ms. Darbus nodded and turned to the black board. Amy glared at her hard and gave her the finger with both hands. This caused the entire room to burst out into laughter. Ms. Darbus spun around, only to find Brandon on the floor, his face red.

"Mr. Montez! Explain to me why you are out of your seat and on that filthy floor in your snow white shirt! Then after that, you can tell me why the entire class was being rude and laughing while I was about to explain your next project!"

Brandon froze. He had fallen out of his chair laughing at Amy, but he couldn't come up with an excuse good enough to save her from another month of detention and possibly suspension. He finally coughed "Uhh...I dropped my pencil and fell out of my seat trying to get it. That's why the class was laughing Ms. Darbus."

Ms. Darbus's red face seemed to cool off as she said "Thank you. Be more careful next time." Brandon nodded and sat back down in his seat, seeing Amy mouth "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it." He winked back at her. She blushed and looked down at her desk.

"Ah, back to where I was about to start. You are going to be assigned a poetry project that is worth 100 points. This is half of your grade for this marking period, so if you are one of those procrastinators out there," she looked directly at Chad, who whispered to Troy "Why's she looking at me?" Troy rolled his eyes with a "Gee, I wonder why?" Ms. Darbus continued "...You might want to change your habits. Now, this project has requirements. It must be at least a page long, front and back. Each stanza must have at least 5 words, unless it's a form of repetition that is also required. So in other words, you are writing a song. It will have a title that is _school appropriate_!" she glared at Chad, whose mouth dropped. He complained "Why do you keep looking at me?!"

Ms. Darbus rolled her eyes and replied "Remember your last poem that you handed in? It was titled 'In the Strip Club'."

This earned a laugh from the entire class while Chad just turned deep red, sinking back in his chair.

"Anyways," Ms. Darbus continued "Your project will need to have a rough copy and a final copy. You will have 2 weeks to do this. And finally, your poem will need to be about your biggest problem in your life or something that was a big problem. For example, if you're fighting someone right now and have been for a while now, like a few years, that can be one of your biggest problems to write about. Or if you're in love with someone that is off limits. These are all examples of topics for your poem. As said before, this is due on the 25th. Make it neat, appropriate, and most of all, creative."

Just then the bell rang. "You are dismissed." Ms. Darbus announced, walking back to her desk and watching her students flee. She smirked when she saw the thoughtful looks on Troy, Brandon, and Gabriella's faces.

"_There's a good way to get them to finally pay attention..."_ she thought to herself as she crossed off an incorrect answer off of someone's drama test.

...After Class...

"So what's your topic for your poem gonna be?" Sharpay asked Gabriella as they stood at Taylor's locker, waiting for her to get her Spanish book. The girls always walked to that class together. Whether they were late or not, they would be late together.

"I don't know." She lied "I'm still thinking. I can't come up with the biggest problem in my life. My life's pretty good right now."

Sharpay rolled her eyes "Come on Gabby, you know that it's hard to date your brother's worst enemy. Come up with a poem about that."

Gabriella shook her head "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Troy knows that it's hard already, so I don't wanna make it worse. Then there's the fact that I just told Brandon that I forgive him for controlling my relationship with Troy. I don't want to bring that up again."

Taylor nodded "You're right. You should just leave the Brandon and Troy thing alone and do something else. What about the situation with your dad? That was pretty bad."

Gabriella nodded "You're right, but she'd know that I'm lying. She used my worst problem as an example, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Sharpay groaned, walking beside Taylor. "Well then just make something up. That's what I would do."

"But I'm not like you Shar. I can't lie like that. It just doesn't feel right. Besides, I'm the worst liar you'll ever meet."

Taylor nodded "True, you are pretty bad. Okay, how about this. Just write about how you're gonna be there for Troy and Brandon when things get hard between the two of them. It's your biggest problem because one of them is gonna have a problem with you helping the other out."

Gabriella disagreed "That's not gonna work. Brandon knows that I love Troy and Troy knows that Brandon and I made up. That would be a lie too."

Sharpay rolled her eyes "You're not making this easy Gabby."

"I'm sorry Sharpay, but I'm just picky on my school work. Maybe I could do something about Troy and Brandon's problem."

"But then it wouldn't be personal. You don't know exactly what they're thinking. They could have kept something from you. I say you just do something about your dad."

Gabriella sighed in defeat "Fine. It wasn't my biggest problem though."

"It's something, isn't it?"

"I guess you're right. Okay, I'll do something about my dad. Thanks Taylor." Gabriella smiled.

"I still say that you make something up..." Sharpay muttered under her breath.

Gabriella sighed "That'll be my back up in case the dad thing doesn't work, okay Shar?"

Sharpay nodded "Thank you."

Gabriella kept her eyes ahead, still thinking about her project. She didn't want to do something about her dad. She wanted to just forget about him and move on with her life. She wouldn't let him hold her down. Not now, not ever.

...Troy...

Troy spun the combination to his locker, hearing Chad complain "Darbus is crazy! Why the hell did she keep picking on me? I'm not that bad, am I?"

Troy rolled his eyes, tired of Chad's wailing. "Dude, just shut up and ignore her. That's what I do and I'm actually passing that class."

Chad sighed and leaned against the lockers behind him while asking "Whatever. So what's your topic gonna be fore the project? I've got mine."

Troy playfully gasped "Oh my God, Chad's actually gonna _do_ his project! Quick, call the media! This is big news!"

Chad shoved him off and whispered "I'm serious. Taylor said that dating me would be too weird and we should just stay friends. That really hurt and I wanna let her know how I feel about it."

Troy put on a hand on his best friend's shoulder and replied "Fine. If you told me that, then I'll tell you that I'm doing mine on Brandon. I'm not gonna tell him exactly what's going on, but I'm just so sick of holding all this in."

Chad nodded "Okay, but just be careful. Don't give out too much information or you're both dead."

Troy rolled his eyes "Gee, thanks for the positive attitude Chad."

Chad shrugged "Again, I'm dead serious. I don't want to see you get hurt man. You're my brother."

"_Only Brandon can say that..."_ Troy thought. Chad had never called him his brother before. It was then he remembered how close he and Brandon were.

"Yeah, what you said." Troy mumbled under his breath, refusing to call Chad his brother. Brandon had that title and _would_ be using it again. Troy didn't know exactly when, but he was positive that he would have his brother back. No matter what, he would make sure of that.

...Brandon...

Brandon sat in health class, not listening or caring what Ms. Fox had to say. All he could think about was his drama project that he had to do. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, but he didn't know if he could use it. He had an idea for the title, but he knew that it would be a dead giveaway. He couldn't let Troy know that he missed him deeply. He couldn't show his weakness. He had to be strong. He had to.

He saw a note make its way over to his desk when Ms. Fox turned her back to the students. Brandon opened the note and read _"What's ur topic 4 the drama project?"_

He wrote _"I'll tell you after class."_ And threw it back to Michael right before Ms. Fox turned back around. Brandon breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair. Ms. Fox was a rule-free teacher, but when she caught you passing notes in her class, you had better run.

Brandon thought back to his project. He was just so confused. He didn't know if he should just technically tell the whole class his feelings or if he should pick a topic about his father. He threw his head in his hands as a few lines for his poem started forming in his mind.

"_What hurts the most, was being so close..."_

...2 Weeks Later...

Troy sat in his seat with his poem face down on his desk. It had taken everything he had, but he finally finished at 1:30 in the morning. He didn't let anyone see it, not Gabriella, not Chad, and not his parents. And if Brandon caught a hold of it, he would diffidently be in trouble.

"Alright class, today's the deadline for your projects. Before you hand them in, does anyone want to volunteer to share theirs with the class?"

Chad scoffed and whispered to Troy "Yeah, like anyone would be dumb enough to tell Darbus their biggest problem." Troy laughed back at him, not seeing Ms. Darbus glare at the two.

"Mr. Bolton, Mr. Danforth! May you be so kind to tell me what's so funny?!"

Troy shook his head "Nothing Ms. Darbus. Sorry."

Ms. Darbus sarcastically smiled "Well then, would you be the brave one and share your poem with us?"

Troy's heart stopped. His eyes widened as Ms. Darbus snatched the paper from his hands and stood at the front of the class, saying "But before you do, let me read this to see if it's...oh my."

"Oh my what?" Troy croaked, not believing what was happening.

"This is beautiful Troy. Why are you so ashamed of it?"

Troy shook his head "I'm not."

"Well then come up and read it." Ms. Darbus ordered, slapping the paper back down on Troy's desk. Troy turned and glared at Chad, who was looking very frightened.

"You better watch your back Chad." Troy growled as he got up, the class cheering him on in the process.

Troy cleared his throat when he got to the front of the room and said "Uhh, this is called 'What Have You Done'. The biggest problem in my life is...uhh... I'm fighting this one guy and I just wanna let him know how I feel about it."

Brandon looked up at Troy with a wondering look, but was sure to put a little anger in his eyes.

Troy took a deep breath after looking at Brandon and read:

_Would you mind if I hurt you?_

_Understand that I need to_

_Wish that I had other choices_

_Than to harm the one I love_

_What have you done now?_

_I know I'd better stop trying_

_You know that there's no denying_

_I won't show mercy on you now_

_I know I should stop believing_

_I know that there's no retrieving_

_It's over now_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done now?_

_I, I've been waiting for someone like you_

_But, now, you are slipping away_

_Why, why does fate make us suffer?_

_There's a curse between us_

_Between me and you_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done now?_

_Would you mind if I killed you?_

_Would you mind if I tried to?_

_Cause you have turned into my worst enemy_

_You carry hate that I feel_

_It's over now_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done now?_

_I've been waiting for someone like you_

_But now you are slipping away_

_Why, why does fate make us suffer?_

_There's a curse between us_

_Between me and you_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done now?_

_What have you done?_

_What have you done?_

_I will not fall_

_Won't let it go_

_We will be free_

_When it ends_

_I, I've been waiting for someone like you_

_But now you are slipping away_

_Why, why does fate make us suffer?_

_There's a curse between us_

_Between me and you_

Ms. Darbus and the entire class clapped and cheered while Brandon just sat there, staring at Troy and trying to comprehend what he had just said. He didn't want to fight him?

"Beautiful Troy! Absolute genius!" Ms. Darbus commented truthfully as Troy walked back to his seat. "Anyone want to top that?"

Ms. Darbus's eyes fell on Brandon, who was pulling his hood over his head to hide his face. She smirked "Mr. Montez, you know how I feel about hoods in school."

"What?"

"Please share your poem with us."

Brandon groaned and walked up to the front of the room, seeing Troy snicker teasingly. Brandon glared at him before announcing "Uhh... this is called 'What Hurts the Most'. The biggest problem in my life is pretty much the same as Troy's only the main idea is different. Here goes." He read:

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house, that don't bother me_

_I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out_

_I'm not afraid to cry_

_Every once in a while even though going on with you gone still upsets me_

_There are days_

_Every now and again I pretend I'm okay but that's not what gets me_

_What hurts the most, was being so close_

_And having so much to say_

_Watching you walk away_

_Never knowing, what could have been_

_And not seeing that loving you_

_Is what I was trying to do_

_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go_

_But I'm doing it_

_It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone_

_Still harder getting up, getting dressed, living with this regret_

_But I know if I could do it over_

_I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart that I left unspoken_

_What hurts the most, is being so close_

_And having so much to say_

_Watching you walk away_

_Never knowing, what could have been_

_And not seeing that loving you_

_Is what I was trying to do_

_I'm not afraid to cry_

_Every once in a while even though going on with you gone still upsets me_

_There are days_

_Every now and again I pretend I'm okay but that's not what gets me_

_What hurts the most, was being so close_

_And having so much to say_

_Watching you walk away_

_And never knowing, what could have been_

_And not seeing that loving you_

_Is what I was trying to do _

"Just as stunning! Brava Brandon!" Ms. Darbus admired, seeing Brandon slowly walk back to his seat and giving Troy a look that said "I hope you feel guilty now."

Chad rolled his eyes and, leaning up to Troy, whispered "That cheesy poem just proves that he's gay. Don't worry. We'll get him for you later."

Troy glared at him and replied harshly "Shut up Chad before we get into even more trouble!"

"You're right Troy," Ms. Darbus piped up, walking over to Chad "You have two choices Danforth. You either will be spending after school detention with me for a week or you can read your poem. Which is it?"

Chad mumbled "I guess I'll read my poem..."

Ms. Darbus again sarcastically smiled. She ushered Chad to the front of the room and nodded, giving him the signal to start.

Chad cleared his throat and started "Umm... this is called 'Over and Over' It's about this one girl that I asked out but she said no. I'm trying to forget about her, but she just keeps pulling me back in." He read:

_I feel it everyday, it's all the same_

_It brings me down but I'm the one to blame_

_I've tried everything to get away_

_So here I go again_

_Chasing you down again_

_Why do I do this?_

_Over and over_

_Over and over I fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over I try not to_

_Feels like everyday stays the same_

_It's dragging me down and I can't pull away_

_So here I go again_

_Chasing you down again_

_Why do I do this?_

_Over and over_

_Over and over I fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over I try not to..._

_Over and over_

_Over and over you make me fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over you don't even try_

_So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head_

_I try to live without you, every time I do I feel dead_

_I know what's best for me, but I want you instead_

_I'll keep on wasting all my time_

_Over and over_

_Over and over I fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over I try not to_

_Over and over_

_Over and over you make me fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over you don't even try to _

The air grew still. Not one person in the room spoke. Everyone's mouth was dropped and for a second, a person could claim that time had stopped. Chad Danforth, air headed basketball star, wrote a poem? A _good_ one?

"Wow..." Troy broke the silence, but still in shock.

"Oh my God..." Taylor mumbled, her head crashing into her arms in embarrassment.

"Danforth, did you actually write that or did you just find it on the internet?" Ms. Darbus asked, denying her question a bit.

Chad shook his head "Nope, it's all me. And just for the record, I would appreciate it if you didn't underestimate me. It hurts."

Ms. Darbus shook her head slightly, still shocked that her worst student had actually written something beautiful.

"Okay then. Very...nice Chad. You may sit down now."

Chad sighed, looking back at Taylor who was trying to hold in tears. Once she caught Chad's gaze, she turned away, not being able to take the hurt in his eyes.

"I feel the need to hear one more. Ms. Montez, would you be brave and read your poem?"

Gabriella nodded and grabbed her poem, walking to the front of the room. She announced "This is called 'Miracle' It's about not giving up on someone in their time of need, so here goes." She read:

_I've gone for too long_

_Living like I'm not alive_

_So I'm going to start over tonight_

_Beginning with you and I_

_When this memory fades_

_I'm going to make sure it's replaced_

_With chances taken, hope embraced_

_And have I told you_

_I'm not going_

_Because I've been waiting for a miracle_

_And I'm not leaving_

_I won't let you_

_Let you give up on a miracle_

_When it might save you_

_We've learned to run from_

_Anything uncomfortable_

_We've tied our pain below_

_And no one ever has to know that inside we're broken_

_I try to patch things up again_

_To calm my tears and kill these fears_

_But have I told you, have I_

_I'm not going_

_Because I've been waiting for a miracle_

_And I'm not leaving_

_I won't let you_

_Let you give up on a miracle_

_When it might save you_

_It's not faith if_

_If you use your eyes_

_You'll lie_

_We'll get it right this time_

_Let's leave this all behind_

_Oh, I will get it right this time_

_It's not faith if you're using your eyes_

_Well I've gone for too long_

_Living like I'm not alive_

_So I'm going to start over tonight_

_Beginning with you and_

_I don't want to run from_

_Anything uncomfortable_

_I just want, no_

_I just need this pain to end right here_

_I'm not going_

_Because I've been waiting for a miracle_

_And I'm not leaving_

_I won't let you_

_Let you give up on a miracle_

_Because it might save you_

_It might save you_

_It might save you_

_Let's not fake this_

_If you use your eyes_

_If you use your eyes_

_If you use your eyes _

Ms. Darbus had tears in her eyes as she clapped "Breath taking, Gabriella! Absolutely perfect!"

Gabriella nodded and took her seat, earning smiles from Troy and Brandon. Ms. Darbus walked up to the front of the room and congratulated "Well, this is surprising. They were all beautiful, well written poems. Well done. Now, everyone hand in your own and then take out your book."

Troy collected all of the poems from his row and handed them to Ms. Darbus. As he sat down, he could swear he saw Brandon mouth "I miss you Troy." Troy just ignored it and pushed it to the back of his brain, feeling a weight being put on his heart.

...After Class...

"Dude, how'd you come up with that? It was brilliant!" Chad asked Troy on their way to lunch.

Troy sighed "I don't know. I guess I just said what I felt. At least I'm getting an A."

"Yeah. So how are you holding up with the whole Izzy thing?"

"Fine. But I still feel bad for what I did to her."

"What did you do?" Chad concerned, getting worried.

Troy sighed "I threatened her. I said that if she didn't break up with Brandon in a week, I would call her abusive boyfriend back in California and tell him about Brandon."

"TROY!!" Chad yelled, earning strange looks from everyone around him.

"Shh! I don't want anyone else to know! I'm trying to forget about it!" Troy whispered.

"But why would you do that Troy? You know that they love each other!" Chad complained.

"Chad, I had to do it. Brandon couldn't be happy, so I had to get rid of the one thing that he had left." Troy replied shamefully.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" came a very angry voice behind Troy.

* * *

**Oh boy! Guess who heard Troy and you get a virtual chocolate bunny! lol! :)**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**A Sneak at Next Chapter:**

**- Another Troy/Brandon fight**

**_"I can't believe you Bolton! How much lower can you get?!" Brandon screamed, not believing how angry he was._**

**_"Brandon, listen to me. I didn't want to-" but Troy couldn't finish. He soon found himself on the ground under a furious Brandon._**

**- The last "You'll hate Brandon" moment arrives. But it's bigger than ever this time...**

**_"Oh my God!" Chad screamed while Gabriella broke down into sobs. "Someone call an ambulance!!"_**

**- Brandon runs away**

**_A knock came to the door. -- opened it and was surprised to see Brandon standing there in tears._**

**_"Brandon? What are you doing here?"_**

**_"I-I need to stay here for a while. I think I might've killed someone..."_**

**Trivia:**

**- Amy's last name, Hartzler, is Amy Lee's husband's last name**

**- The idea of Amy getting caught texting in class actually happened to me. I was in science and my teacher saw my phone. Haha :)**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**P.S: Everyone's poems are songs. Troy's is "What Have You Done?" by Within Temptation, Brandon's "What Hurts the Most" by Cascada (Originally by Rascal Flatts but I hate country), Chad's "Over and Over" by Three Days Grace, and Gabriella's "Miracle" by Paramore :)**


	28. Running Away

**Yeah, you'll hate me by the end of this. Remember how last chapter I said that Brandon will commit one more hell act? Well you'll defidently be like "WTF?!" Trust me, you'll hate me and Joe Jonas...**

**P.S: For all of you who think that he runs away to Isabelle's house, you're in for a treat at the end. The last line will be the second "WTF?!" moment. Okay, enough of my rambling. READ!! :)**

**P.S.S: You know how I put those 4 dashes to seperate the time frames? Well apparently Fanfiction won't allow that anymore, so I'm just gonna either use the three period thing or I'll just put ...God's First Nightmare... :)**

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?!" came a very angry voice behind Troy.

Troy spun around and froze as Brandon charged for him. Brandon shoved him into the lockers and screamed "YOU THREATENED ISABELLE?!"

"Brandon, calm down. Just let me explain." Troy calmly answered, actually afraid of Brandon for once.

"I can't believe you Bolton! How much lower can you get?!" Brandon screamed, not believing how angry he was.

"Brandon, just listen to me. I didn't want to-" but Troy couldn't finish. He soon found himself on the ground under a furious Brandon. Brandon held him down by his collar and started throwing punches right at his nose without any hesitation. His face was beet red and his eyes showed nothing but pure fury. Not hurt, not regret, just fury.

Brandon eventually stopped when Troy's nose started bleeding. Instead, he just held him down on the ground by his neck. Troy's face became blue and he started wheezing, trying to get some air.

"Brandon, stop it!" Gabriella shouted, trying to release Troy from Brandon's grip. Chad held her back, saying "No, let Troy get out of this on his own. Brandon would never kill him."

Chad was right. A few moments passed before Brandon let go of Troy's neck reluctantly. Troy pretended to pass out as Brandon looked him over, a little worried that he might have killed him. He walked up to his ex best friend, but was caught off guard as Troy swung his legs and tripped Brandon, sending him to the ground. Troy held him down by his arms and clawed at his face with his long, unclipped nails. Troy saw that he had accidentally hit Brandon in the eye, but at the moment, he didn't care. He just forgot about trying to pursued Brandon that he did it for the greater good and beat the living shit out of him. He combined punches and claws and he even spit in his eye once. Brandon kicked Troy in his sensitive area as payback for making his eye bleed. Troy fell to the ground with a groan, clutching the area where Brandon had kicked him. Brandon took this as an opportunity to attack again. The Montez stomped on Troy's torso and heard a crack, signaling that he had broken one of Troy's ribs. Troy let out an ear splitting scream and rolled around on the floor, holding his chest in pain.

Out of the corner of his eye, Brandon heard Gabriella scream "NOOO!!" and start for Troy. Brandon grabbed Troy by his hair and drag him into an empty classroom. He slammed and locked the door just as Gabriella was about to grab the doorknob. She pounded on the door and screamed "BRANDON!! BRANDON, OPEN THE DOOR!! BRANDON!!"

Chad came running to the door and joined her in her antics, shouting "MONTEZ, LET TROY OUT!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!! CALM DOWN AND UNLOCK THE DOOR!! TROY!!"

Before they knew it, they heard the bangs and crashes of items being broken or thrown. Screams were heard and broken glass was being either thrown or used as a weapon. With every passing second, Gabriella grew more and more worried. She couldn't cheer for anyone since one was her boyfriend and the other was her brother. She was caught in the middle.

"Chad, go get the others and Mr. Bolton! Hurry!" Gabriella ordered.

Chad didn't need to be told twice as he took off down the hall, shoving through the crowd that had gathered. Sharpay was the first to show up in a few seconds. She must have been just around the corner when Chad ran to get the gang and Troy's dad. She had a look of worry plastered on her face as she demanded "What happened?!"

Gabriella answered "Troy and Brandon are out of control. They've never fought like this before. I'm afraid that one's gonna kill the other. BRANDON, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!!"

Sharpay took Chad's place in banging on the door as her shill screams could be heard through the thick walls. "MONTEZ, YOU DO ANYTHING TO SERIOUSLY INJURE TROY AGAIN YOU'RE IN FOR A HELLISH TREAT!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE!!"

Gabriella stopped her "Sharpay, don't piss him off! He'll get angry and take it out on Troy! Don't call him any names or make any threats!"

Sharpay nodded as they continued trying to either unlock the door or break it down. Within minutes, the entire gang minus Troy was pounding on the door. Jack was the angriest out of all of them, for he feared the life of his son.

"Troy, unlock the door!" Jack screamed, trying to break the door down. "Troy, say something if you hear me!"

"HELP ME!!" came a scream from inside the room. Jack's eyes widened as he continued to try and knock the door down, his eyes full of worry and rage.

"DAD, PLEASE!! HELP M-" Troy screamed again, but he was cut off by something. All movement outside the locked door was ceased. Gabriella whispered "Oh my God."

"Troy!!" Taylor shrieked, throwing her fist at the door. Chad held her back.

Everyone waited for a few minutes for something to happen in silence. No one heard anything moving inside the room besides a thump on the wall. The tension could be cut with a knife. There wasn't one worry-free person in the crowd.

Suddenly, the door flew open as Brandon tore out of the hallway in a flash, pale and looking like he just saw a ghost. He ran out the front door and past his car. He took off down the street towards his house, not once looking back at the school. Something was diffidently wrong.

Gabriella and Chad exchanged worried glances as they stared at the open door, both of them afraid the move. Gabriella finally took a step forward and waited for Chad to follow her. She was sure that he could hear her heartbeat. Her and Chad finally stepped inside the room in search for Troy. They gasped.

The room was totally trashed. Desks lay broken on the floor and huge dents in the walls made it apparent that they had been thrown against them. The teacher's desktop was clean and free of everything except blood starting to stain the white surface. Papers, pencils, and the pencil sharpener lay on the floor ripped and torn. Most pencils were broken in half and they too had blood on their tips. Someone had tried to cut or stab the other. The blackboard had the most blood and even a part of Brandon's shirt on one of the hooks on the top was torn. Troy's shoes had been thrown in different directions, one at the front of the room and one at the other. They didn't know why, but they didn't really care at the moment. Most of the windows had been broken and had blood dripping from the broken shards still attached to the window pane. The teacher also had broken glass ornaments scattered across the room, which was probably what they heard breaking outside other than the windows. This was Ms. Enders room. That was obvious. But the one thing that scared Gabriella the most was the statue that still lay on her desk on its side. The statue was of a solider on a horse, waving its sword in its porcelain hand. The sword was the only thing removable from the statue. That's what scared Gabriella.

The sword wasn't there.

She heard an almost inaudible cough behind her. Gabriella and Chad spun around and their hearts skipped a beat. Their bodies became cold and their eyes widened. There, lying on the floor, was Troy, cut up and bruised from the fight. His eyes were dark and empty from shock and blood ran down his body and damped his hair. But that wasn't the pair's main focus. Their attention was on the missing sword, which was now found...

In Troy's chest.

--

Gabriella and Chad stood there, fully unable to move. They were both way too shocked to breathe. This _was_ a nightmare. This _couldn't_ be real. They were _not_ standing there, watching their friend on the floor with a porcelain sword in his chest. Troy just sat there against the wall, staring at his best friend and girlfriend. His eyes were still empty and the blood from his chest had now ran down to his jeans. He couldn't even feel the tears making their way down his cheeks. "Gabriella, Chad..." he whispered, barely being heard.

Oh my God!" Chad screamed while Gabriella broke down into sobs, running over to her boyfriend and losing the ability to speak. "Someone call an ambulance!!" Chad ordered everyone outside. "Mr. Bolton!! Come in here!!"

In less than a second, Jack came rushing inside the room, his face twisted into a look of pure worry. He stopped short when as witnessed his son with a statue accessory in his chest.

"NOO!!" Jack screamed, running over to comfort his son. He pulled Troy away from Gabriella and laid his head in his chest. "Troy, Troy come on! Say something!"

"Dad..." was all Troy could mutter, letting out more tears. He looked around the room that he had helped destroy and whispered "Brandon...hurt..."

"He's gone Troy," Chad stroked his friend's back, choking back tears. "Don't worry about him hurting you anymore. He's gone."

"No," Troy replied huskily "Brandon...i-is he...h-hurt?"

Gabriella answered tearfully "We don't know. God Troy, what happened?"

"Help..." Troy cried quietly, his eyes closing.

"Troy! Troy, open your eyes son! God, who's calling an ambulance?!" Jack pleaded, shaking Troy slightly.

"They'll be here in a few min...OH MY GOD!!" Sharpay cried as they gang rushed in, gasping when they saw Troy.

Troy didn't open his eyes. He just muttered "Brandon. Where's my brother...?"

--

...Brandon...

Brandon ran from the school towards his house, tears streaming down his pale face. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He had fought his ex best friend and won, which rarely happened. But that wasn't what hit him.

He had stabbed Troy.

Troy had said something about Isabelle and Austin, which really set Brandon off. Troy didn't mean to say it, but he just wanted Brandon to know the truth about his ex girlfriend. The thought of Isabelle being with another guy had made Brandon furious. He had to take his anger out on someone. Troy was the closest person there and he needed to do some real damage to him. But he never intended to stab him. He just wanted to give him another concussion maybe, not take his life. He couldn't believe it.

No matter how hard he tried, his heart just refused to hold anything against Troy. Ever since his poem, Brandon believed that Troy had lied to him for a reason. He knew that it's only been an hour since the poems, but it felt like so much longer. He's been fighting Troy for 5 years now and after the whole time, he just realized that he never really hated Troy. No one with a bond that strong could ever hate each other, no matter what happened.

Brandon crashed into his house and ran up to his room, slamming and locking the door. He knew that Gabriella and the gang would come in a few hours after visiting the hospital that Troy was probably going to. There was no doubt about that.

Brandon slid to his butt and pulled his knees up to his chest. He couldn't go back. He couldn't return to school after that. No one would treat him the same way. They'd be afraid of him and call him a murderer if Troy died. If he didn't, they'd call him a heartless, hateful person who just wants people to die. Gabriella would move out again, his mother would probably turn him in, and his best friends would bail on him. He was alone. He had no one. He was as good as dead.

He stared at a picture on the wall. It was from when he and Gabriella were 5 years old. Brandon was on his father's back laughing with joy and Gabriella was in his arms, giggling. Mr. Montez, or Chase, had the proudest look on his face. He was laughing along with Brandon and Gabriella. Gina was taking the picture, which was why she wasn't in it. Those were the good times when Gina and Chase were still married.

The other one that Brandon almost never looked at hung in the corner of his closet. No matter how angry he was with Troy, he refused to throw away or damage that picture. This one was taken the day after the family photo was taken. Troy, who was also 5 years old, had his arm around Brandon's shoulder and they were both smiling. They were wearing basketball jerseys. He and Troy were once on a preschool basketball team when they were little. Brandon ditched basketball for hip hop dancing when he was 7, but after he sprained his ankle doing a complicated routine, he was scared to dance again. He went back to basketball with Troy a year later and they both made the team every year, except for 7th grade when Troy lied to him. He never touched a basketball again.

Brandon stood up after a few minutes of wallowing in grief. He walked over to the picture of his father and him and grinned, tracing his finger over his father's face. This was before Chase started drinking. When he was happy. No one could ever replace his father, but Gina once tried to marry again until she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. She never dated after that.

There was only one thought on Brandon's mind. Run away. He couldn't stay here. He'd get killed. Troy would try to get him back for what he did to him and this time, someone would die. Brandon. That couldn't happen. That wouldn't happen. He wouldn't let it happen.

Brandon ran over to his closet and threw a few clothes into his duffel bag. He went over to his dresser and threw in his iPod, his cologne, his laptop, and his wallet. He wasn't going to stay here. He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice. It was best for everyone. He was too dangerous and he didn't want to hurt Gabriella again. He had to do this.

He ran downstairs and opened the door, but didn't leave. He looked back at his house and smiled. There were so many memories here. His imagination went to work as he saw Gabriella running through the door and hugging Brandon with all her might. It was the first day that she had gotten here. She was crying on Brandon's shoulder and saying how much she missed him. Brandon, minus the crying, was doing the same thing. He was just so happy to have his sister back.

He was snapped out of his daze by a car coming up the driveway. His mother was home. Brandon ran to the backdoor and sneaked out to the backyard. He crept around the house and saw his mother enter the house. She called "Brandon! Why's your car out front?"

Brandon watched her as climbed the stairs. He waited until he heard her bedroom door close and darted to his car. He grabbed his keys and started the car, pulled out of the driveway, and drove off down the road.

--

...2 Hours Later...

Brandon pulled up to the house that he wasn't familiar with, but decided to stay at for a while. He had gotten numerous phone calls from his mother, Gabriella, and his friends. He didn't answer any of them. He received 2 texts from Gabriella and about 50 from his mother. He looked at the first one that Gina sent. It said _"Your car was outside when I got home. You weren't home when I called, but the car was gone 5 minutes after I got home. Where r u?"_

He decided to look at the last one too. _"Gabriella just called me from the hospital and told me what happened. Come home and we'll talk about it."_

He ignored all of them. He grabbed his bags and walked up to the door. He took a deep breath and, feeling tears welling up in his eyes, rang the doorbell. As the door opened, Brandon let his tears go. He couldn't find a reason to hold them in.

"Brandon?" The person asked, perplexed. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I need to stay here for a while. I think I might've killed someone..." Brandon trailed off at the end, feeling the need to start sobbing.

"You what?" the person gasped, opening the door a little wider. Brandon didn't step through. He just looked at the ground and shakily pleaded "Please. I just...need to stay here for a few weeks."

He looked up at the person in front of him and boldly said "I need your help dad."

* * *

**Yowza! Sorry to all of you who thought that he was moving in with Isabelle and Sarah, but it's his dad. And I gave Mr. Montez a name. From now on, he's Chase Montez. I just love the name Chase for some reason...**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	29. I Can't Hate You Anymore

**I'M ON CLOUD NINE RIGHT NOW!! shortytori322821 made a youtube trailer for this story! OMG i'm so exited and i just want to thank her so much for it! It feels like this is some big movie or something! Anyways, just to youtube and type in "God's First Nightmare" it's the first one that pops up!! OMG OMG OMG...**

**Anyways, sorry I haven't updated guys! My internet was down and I had to type up this really long chapter. Personally, I hate it. It's really childish, so don't expect anything deep and personal. A few things happen in this chapter, but it's not really a lot. Okay, READ!! :)**

**P.S: The dashes work again! You can't do four, but you can put two! I'm so happy! I hate those long, grey lines that FF supplies you with. They're just...ugh I don't like them!**

**Chapter 28 - I Can't Hate You Anymore**

* * *

...Troy's POV...

Oh my God. My head's pounding. I feel something soft under me. What's that beeping noise I hear? It smells really nasty in here. Kinda familiar. Why does it smell like a hospital?

What happened to me? My chest has a 2 ton brick on it. God, it feels like I was stabbed! Wait a minute...

Who's that? They sound really professional. Who's crying? It sounds like...Gabby? Jesus Christ, WHAT'S GOING ON?!

"Dr. Harper, is he going to be okay?" Is she talking about me? Who's Dr. Harper?

"He should be," the official guy said. I'm guessing that's Dr. Harper. Uh oh. Doctor? What do I need a doctor for?

Dr. Harper continued "The knife almost punctured a lung. It's a miracle that it missed his heart also. The only damage is that it brushed against his spinal cord. I'm guessing that this Brandon you speak of was extremely angry to do something like this."

Brandon? What's Brandon got to do with any of this? Can someone _please_ tell me if I'm losing my mind? Are they even talking about me?

"Yeah, he was," someone else sobbed. Chad? "Troy said something that really set Brandon off and Brandon just lost control and... well you know."

Oh my God, they _are_ talking about me. What does Chad mean by Brandon 'you know'? What did he do to me?

"Is he gonna wake up soon?" I'd know that teary voice anywhere. Sharpay.

"I'm guessing that he can hear what we're saying right now, but he's still in a coma."

COMA?!

"He's making immense progress for just a week."

A WEEK?! I'VE BEEN IN HERE FOR A WHOLE EFFING WEEK?!

"Good," This person sounded like he was trying not to cry. Dad? He never cries... "God, how could Brandon do something like this? They used to be best friends." Yeah, well...

"I know. It gets harder and harder everyday to hear about another fight at school." I could barely understand what was just said. That sounds just like my mom. She can't talk when she's crying. Can someone just say what Brandon did to me to put me in a hospital...again?

"How exactly did this whole fight start anyway?" Dr. Harper asked.

"Well," Chad started "Troy was talking to me about his cousin and how he felt bad for being mean to her this one time. Brandon was dating Isabelle before she moved and he overheard Troy talking about her. He was furious that Troy would do something like that to her and he just blew up on him. They started fighting and Brandon locked them in a closet, they fought, and then Brandon stabbed him."

He _stabbed_ me?! Oh yeah. Well that explains the 2 ton brick...

"What did Troy do to Isabelle?" Dr. Harper asked.

"We'd rather keep that confidential." Gabriella quickly answered before Chad had a chance to tell. Mental note, thank Gabby when I wake up. _If_ I wake up...

"Very well. You're free to see him now." Dr. Harper said, walking out of the room.

I could hear slow footsteps approaching me. They were a mix of heels and sneakers. Gabby and Chad I'm guessing.

"Hey Troy," came a watery greeting. That's obviously Gabriella.

"Don't worry man, you're gonna be fine." Chad added. You could tell that he was trying not to cry.

"Troy," Gabriella whispered, kneeling down on my bed. She touched my hand. It felt really weird. Why's my hand cold?

"I know you can hear me," Gabriella continued. "You may not be able to talk to me, but me and Chad are here to tell you that we're not giving up on you. You're in the hospital because Brandon...stabbed you with Ms. Enders' statue sword. They got the porcelain pieces out, but the sword hit your spine and they don't know if it paralyzed you."

Paralyzed? Meaning I can't feel anything in my lower body and I'll have to spend my life in a wheelchair?

"Don't be scared Troy," Chad said. I could hear Gabriella muffled cries. Chad was holding her. Mental note number 2. Thank Chad when I wake up.

"We're all worried about you man, but that doesn't mean that we don't believe that you'll wake up. You're gonna be fine, okay? We believe in you."

Wow, who knew that Chad could be so sentimental?

A new set of footsteps entered the room. Again, heels and sneakers. Taylor doesn't wear heels. That leaves one person...

"Troy," Sharpay. Of course. "Why are you scaring us like this? You didn't even do anything to deserve this! You were just helping out your brother and he repays you like this?! Take my advice and stop protecting him! If he doesn't appreciate what you're doing for him, then forget about him! He's useless!"

"Shar, Brandon doesn't know what Troy's doing for him. You know that Troy would never stop this until it's over, so just calm down." Zeke comforted her. He was the only one who wasn't crying. I'm guessing that he's trying to be strong for everyone. Mental note number 3. Thank Zeke when I wake up.

Again, more footsteps coming in. Both sound like sneakers. Mom only wears flats in public.

"Hey sweetie," she was trying not to cry, but you could tell that she wasn't making much progress in that without even looking at her. "I just want you to know that I love you and even if you are paralyzed, it won't make anything different. We'll still love you just as much. You're the strongest person I know Troy. I love you."

I love you too mom. God, I need to wake up!

"Son, this is hard for everyone," Dad said, trying not to cry. He was doing a lot better than mom, I'll give him that. "Especially you. I couldn't imagine what it must be like to be in your position. I feel like I didn't do my job to protect you. You have every right to blame me for this."

No! You didn't do anything Dad! Don't blame yourself! It's not your fault!

"God, why won't he wake up already?!" Sharpay cried. Leave it to her to get dramatic.

"I suggest Gabriella kisses him." Taylor suggested. When did she get here?

"What?" Gabriella replied. She sounded shocked. I couldn't blame her. I was stunned too.

"That's a good idea," Sharpay agreed, sounding like she had finally stopped crying. "I heard that it kinda helps people wake up."

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked again, sounding nervous. Oh crap, I don't want her to feel pressured.

"Yeah, I mean it might help, right?" Chad said.

I could hear Gabriella sigh "Okay, here goes."

I could feel her leaning down, her warm breath on my cheek. Her lips were only centimeters from mine. We connected. God, how I want to kiss her back! Come on you stupid lips, kiss her back! Let her know I'm alive!

"Any luck?" Sharpay asked carefully when she pulled away.

I felt a drop of warm water fall on my cheek. Oh crap, don't cry Gabby!

"No. He's still...oh my God!"

"What?" Dad piped up, sounding worried.

"His lips aren't blue anymore! We've got something!" Gabriella cried. My lips were blue? Since when?

"So that means..." Jesus Christ Chad, you're so stupid...

I heard the sound of someone being slapped. "That means that he might be waking up, you retard!" Taylor snapped, sounding angry.

"Oww! That doesn't mean you have to hit me! I'm a little slow!" Chad complained, as expected. He always complains when Taylor smacks his head.

"Whatever. At least we're making some progress." My mom said. Wow, she's just as obvious as Chad...

"Someone go get the doctor! They need to know this!" My dad said.

"I'm on it." Zeke replied, running out the door I'm guessing.

"I-I'll go with him." Sharpay added, rushing after him. Sharpay of all people. Who would have guessed?

"We need to go call the family. Isabelle said to call us when something happened." Mom piped up. Her and my dad exited the room.

"I'm hungry." Chad randomly said a few seconds after my parents left. Yeah, your best friend's in a coma and all you can think about is food? And you expect me to call you my brother...

"Uhh, whatever." Taylor groaned, pulling him out of the room to head to the café. Wait, how did I know that? Oh my God, I CAN SEE!! MY EYES ARE OPENING!!

Gabriella was the only one left in the room. She had tear stains on her face. Please don't cry Gabby. I'm waking up!

She sighed and, with her head low, walked over to the chair sitting beside my bed. She looked ahead of her and let out a few more tears. Why won't she stop crying?

"Brandon, why?" she whimpered, her lip quivering. "He was just trying to protect you. Just come home and tell me why it had to be like this."

Come home? What does she mean "come home"? Did he run away or something?

Gabriella walked over to me and sat down on the side of my bed. She brought her hand up to my face and stroked my hair, not noticing that my eyes were opening. She whispered "I love you Troy. Never forget that." She leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my lips, not expecting me to kiss back. Boy, was she in for a big surprise...

...No One's POV...

Gabriella gasped and jumped back, staring at her boyfriend. That didn't just happen. She didn't just feel Troy, who was in a coma, kiss her back. It was impossible.

"T-Troy?" she whispered, watching his eyes open halfway.

Troy looked up at Gabriella and smiled, saying "I love you too Gabby."

Gabriella cried words of happiness and wrapped her shaking arms around Troy, sobbing in his chest. Troy returned the hug and shushed her, smiling all the same.

"Oh my God Troy! You're awake! You're finally awake!" Gabriella yelled through tears.

Troy nodded "Yeah, it took a lot of work, but here I am. Please don't cry."

Gabriella pulled back and looked into his eyes, replying "Do you remember anything that happened? Do you know why you're in here?"

Troy nodded sadly, sorrow flashing through his eyes. "Yeah. I heard you guys talking about it a few minutes ago."

Gabriella smiled "So you _did_ hear us."

Troy grinned and again nodded "Was I not supposed to?"

Gabriella shook her head "Forget it. At least you're awake now."

Troy pointed to the area on his bed next to him. Gabriella smiled and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, laying down on Troy's chest. Troy kissed her temple and whispered "What did you mean by 'Brandon, just come home'?"

"Huh?"

"You were crying and talking about why Brandon did this. What did you mean by 'Just come home'?"

Gabriella froze, not knowing how to answer to that. She suddenly found the mattress very interesting as she murmured "He ran away..."

"Say that again?" Troy asked, not hearing her the first time.

"He ran away." Gabriella repeated a little louder, fresh tears apparent in her eyes.

"What?" Troy gasped, his whole body freezing.

Gabriella looked away from him, not being able to stand the shock in his eyes. She continued shakily "Visiting hours were over the day you got here, so we all went home. I was panicking because I didn't know how I was gonna act around Brandon, so I sneaked in through the back and sneaked up to his room without seeing him anywhere downstairs. I opened the door and didn't see him anywhere in his room, so I called all his friends and they assured that he wasn't with them. I then saw that his room was kinda plain, so I got suspicious. I told my mom about it and we looked around the house for a clue for hours. When we were about to give up and call the police, I found a note in his room that was in his pillowcase. It was apparently a note since it had my name on it, so I opened it and it read that...he was gone. He ran away and wasn't gonna call anybody from here. He didn't want us to worry about him, so he asked me to promise that I would keep it to myself. He's gone Troy. He ran away."

Gabriella broke down into sobs and collapsed into her boyfriend's chest and sobbed her heart out. Troy wrapped his arms around her shoulders and whispered words of comfort in her ear, trying to calm her down. She eventually pulled away and wiped her face, stating "My mom called the police and they're out looking for him as we speak. They said that if they don't come up with anything in a month, they're gonna call off the search and claim him to be...d-dead."

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Gabby. Are you sure he didn't say where he was?" Troy truthfully apologized, rubbing her back.

Gabriella didn't answer right away. She just played with the hem of her shirt and muttered "I know where he is."

"You do?"

"Yeah," Gabriella looked up at him and confessed "There's only one place he would be."

"Isabelle's house?" Troy guessed, raising an eyebrow.

Gabriella shook her head "No, not Izzy's. Somewhere else..."

"Where?"

"I can't tell you."

"Come on Gabby."

"No Troy. I can't. I made a promise to Brandon. I have to keep this a secret." Gabriella removed herself from his lap and walked over to the door. "I'm gonna go tell everyone that you're awake. See you later."

"But Gabby-"

But he couldn't finish. Gabriella had already walked out the door and didn't look back. Troy was all alone.

Again.

He sighed and sat back in his pillow, closing his eyes. This was his fault. He had agreed to that stupid deal with that stupid man. He had caused this whole 5-year mess. This was his fault.

He took a deep breath and tried to remember how everything went down between him and Brandon a week ago. He remembered giving his poem and talking to Chad about Isabelle, but after that, it was all a blur. The only thing that he remembered after that was a sharp shooting pain radiating through his chest and glass shattering inside of him, but he knew that it was just the sword. That was nothing new to him.

Soon, he found himself drifting off into a world of his own. Though it scared him, he felt himself nodding off into sleep. He tried and tried, but he just couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. He fell asleep.

--

...Troy's POV...

Where am I? Did I slip into another coma? God, I hope not. That would suck so bad...

Who's that? It looks sorta like...Brandon? What's he doing here?

Why can't he hear me? Dude, are you deaf or something? I'm talking to you! Listen to me! What the hell are you looking at? Yes, I can see the stars are really pretty and everything, but they're nothing to cry about. Stop crying. You know I hate seeing you cry. Oh wait, no you don't...

Come on Montez, say something. Let me know you know I'm here. Look at me and say "Oh there you are Troy."

Finally, you stopped crying. I was starting to get worried. What were you crying for anyway? Was it for me? I hate it when you cry over me...

Where are you? It looks like the backyard of someone's house. That isn't somewhere I recognize. Just tell me where you are. I need to find you. For Gabriella.

Where are you going? Oh, you're just going over to the fence. Don't leave. I still need to figure out where you are.

You look like you're about to say something. Do you know I'm here after all? Wherever that is...

"**We built it up, to watch it fall**

**Like we meant nothing at all**

**I gave and gave, the best of me**

**But couldn't give you what you need**

**You walked away, you stole my life**

**Just to find what you're looking for**

**But no matter how I try,**

**I can't hate you anymore.**

I'm sorry Troy. Please forgive me."

Oh my God. I can't believe this. Did you just sing to me? Do you miss me just as much as I miss you? I'm sorry that it has to be this way Brandon, but I promise you, it'll all be over soon. I swear we'll be best friends again.

I promise.

--

...No One's POV...

Troy jolted awake with a start, his eyes wide and his breathing unstable. He looked around him. He was still in the hospital. No wonder his bed was so uncomfortable.

He looked around him. He was surrounded by Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Ryan, Jason, Kelsi, Zeke, his parents, Dr. Harper, and, standing in the very back, Gabriella.

"What's going on?" Troy asked groggily.

"OH THANK GOD!!" Lucy cried, rushing over to her son and hugging him with so much strength she could break a brick.

"Ah Troy! Good to see that you're awake!" Dr. Harper beamed. "Ms. Montez told us an hour ago and we came to check on you, but you were asleep. We decided to let you wake up first. How are you feeling?"

Troy nodded "F-fine. I'm doing fine."

Dr. Harper nodded and continued "Okay, well we're just gonna do some tests and then see if you really are fine. This will only take a few minutes."

Troy nodded and made eye contact with Gabriella as Dr. Harper stuck a needle in his arm. She sent a small smile his way and he returned it, mouthing "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled back, knowing that everything would be alright as long as the one she cared about would stay out of harms way.

* * *

**...Yeah. There's not much to say about that chapter. Nothing really happens. Told you that it sucked...**

**Anyway, the next chapter is written and will be out probably tomorrow. REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Sneak at Next Chapter:**

**- Gabriella makes a drastic decision**

"_**What if I said I knew of a way to protect Troy from Brandon until this fight's over between them?"**_

"_**It depends. What's the idea?" Sharpay asked, fully listening to her friend.**_

_**Gabriella sighed and explained "Okay, so the main reason that Brandon cranked up the intensity of his fights is because Troy's dating me, right?"**_

_**Taylor and Sharpay shared worried glances, but nodded all the same.**_

_**Gabriella reluctantly continued "I decided that I need to break up with Troy..."**_

**- Gabriella pays a little visit to a family member**

_**Gabriella nodded and was about to say something else when a voice came from upstairs. "Hey dad, who was at the door?"**_

_**Gabriella turned to the staircase and teared up as he came running down the stairs, energy rushing through him. She hadn't seen that in a long time.**_

**- Troy gets the wrong vibe from a phone call**

"_**Hey Troy. How are you feeling?" She saw Brandon's gaze drift to the floor in guilt.**_

"_**Fine. Where are you?"**_

"_**At Taylor's house. I told you that before I left the hospital."**_

"_**Oh that's funny. Because her and Chad just came by and Taylor said that she had no idea where you were."**_

_**Gabriella froze. She had completely forgotten to tell Taylor about her plan.**_

"_**Oh..." She couldn't say anything after that.**_

"_**What's going on?" Brandon loudly whispered. Big mistake. He didn't sound like himself over the phone and the two were sitting close together.**_

"_**Who was that?" Troy asked on full alert.**_

"_**What do you mean?" Gabriella asked, getting worried.**_

"_**That person in the background. It sounds like a...it sounds like a guy..."**_

**Trivia:**

**- Dr. Harper was named after my Latin teacher, only in real life, it's a girl instead of a guy**

**- The song that Brandon sings in Troy's dream is I Can't Hate You Anymore by Nick Lachey. I used the song in my story Cheated too**

**- I wrote what happened after Chase let Brandon in the house, but decided not to finish it/put it in. The chapter's WAY too long. It would've added another 5 pages on Microsoft Word and it's basically just a plot recap. We're already at 11 pages on MW right now...**

**--**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


	30. Close Call

****

**Okay, I think I know why this story lost it's spark when Isabelle and Sarah came into the picture (no offense to our contest winners) This is what I think is going on...**

**I changed the story line. This story started out as a Troy/Brandon fighting Troy/Gabby love story and ended up being a Brandon/Izzy story and nothing about the Troy/Brandon situation. Personally, I'm disgusted with myself. Bad Rachel, bad! So, all in favor of me rewriting chapters 20 through 26 say I. I want to thank the two girls who helped me with the summary, but adding you in the story was a bad move. It changed the story line and kicked the spark in the ass. I feel really bad, but I just think that I need to rewrite those 6 chapters and go along with what I had in mind since the beginning. Send a review and tell me if I should rewrite chapters 20-26 and completely erase Izzy and Sarah from the story. Thanks guys :)**

* * *

...The Girls That Night...

Gabriella lay on Sharpay's large bed staring out the window. Gabriella, Sharpay, and Taylor had all met up at Sharpay's house to have a girl's night out. They had just come back from the mall and right now, Taylor and Sharpay were talking about their crushes. They didn't, however, ignore Gabriella's distant and sorrowful look.

"Gabby? Are you okay?" Taylor asked, crawling over to her best friend. Gabriella snapped out of her trance and nodded "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Sharpay doubted, scooting over to her friends. "You've been quiet all night. Is something going on?"

Gabriella shook her head and replied "No, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Troy?" Taylor guessed.

Gabriella sighed, but nodded. "Yeah. I'm just so worried about him. What if he goes into another coma?"

Sharpay scolded "Gabby, don't even think like that! If he woke up once, then he'll wake up a second time. Trust me, he's fine. He'll pull through this. You know him."

Gabriella looked back out the window, taking in her friend's words like a sponge. She knew that the blonde was right, but she still couldn't help but think the worst. She didn't want to see him get hurt again. That gave her an idea.

"Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"What if I said I knew of a way to protect Troy from Brandon until this fight's over between them?"

"It depends. What's the idea?" Sharpay asked, fully listening to her friend.

Gabriella sighed and explained "Okay, so the main reason that Brandon cranked up the intensity of his fights is because Troy's dating me, right?"

Taylor and Sharpay shared worried glances, but nodded all the same.

Gabriella reluctantly continued "I decided that I need to break up with Troy."

"WHAT?!" Taylor and Sharpay both screamed at the top of their lungs.

Gabriella looked at the floor in guilt, knowing that this would be their reaction to her decision. She just concluded that it was for the best.

"Guys, I'm sorry. But I was just thinking that this was the main reason that Brandon was fighting Troy with so much hate. I have to do this."

Taylor stuttered "B-but what about your love?! You two are soul mates!"

Gabriella shrugged "I need to forget my feelings for him and just do my part to protect him. I don't want him to end up in the hospital again because of something I took part in. Brandon can't handle us together, so I have to do something about that. I have to break up with him."

While Taylor was trying to find her voice, Sharpay was advising "Gabby, I'm not telling you that it's not right to break up with Troy, but I just want to make sure that this is what you really want to do. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Gabriella nodded and replied "I'm positive. I love him too much to see him get hurt again. Especially by my own brother."

Sharpay moved closer to the brunette and draped her arm around her, stating "Well, I don't know about you Taylor, but I support her decision. It sounds like she put a lot of thinking into this and since she's way smarter than me, I have to agree with her. What about you?"

Taylor sighed "I'm fine with it. The only thing that bugs me is that Troy is Chad's best friend and if Troy's depressed, Chad's depressed."

Sharpay and Gabriella gave her knowing grins and Gabriella joked "And heaven knows that Taylor can't stand to see her beloved Chad sad."

Taylor playfully smacked her friend's arm and growled "Shut up. You know I care about him."

Sharpay smiled "Yeah, and Sharpay plus a sad Zeke doesn't equal a very happy Sharpay, now does it?"

Gabriella groaned and let her head fall into her hands. She grumbled "This is gonna affect everyone, isn't it?"

Sharpay stroked Gabriella's back and comforted "Don't worry. I'm sure that when this whole thing is over, you two will make up and so will Brandon and Troy. Okay? Just do what you think is right."

Gabriella nodded "Thanks Sharpay. I really needed that."

Sharpay smiled "What are best friends for?"

Taylor rolled her eyes "Okay, okay. Can we please go see Prom Night now? We'll be late if we don't leave in the next 3 minutes."

Gabriella and Sharpay nodded, grabbed their purses, and walked out to Gabriella's car, the thought of the breakup to be still latched to their minds.

--

...Gabriella The Next Night...

Gabriella stared at the steering wheel in front of her, her plan still coursing through her jumbled mind. Should she really do this?

"_Oh just get it over with Gabriella!"_ she thought to herself. _"What's the worst that could happen? You won't get kicked out or anything. You need to see if he's alright and where you think he is."_

Gabriella took a deep breath and waved to her mother. She told Gina that she was sleeping over at Taylor's house and helping her with her outfit that she should wear for her date with Chad. She had met Chad at the movies the night before and reconsidered his offer for a date. He was obviously ecstatic, but handled himself very well. They were going to the new amusement park that was opening next Friday.

The twist was, she planned on helping Taylor with her outfit night before the date. She just told her mom that the date was tomorrow at Ruby Tuesday. She was all set for her plan. The only problem was that she had trouble telling herself to drive.

"Come on Gabby!" she took a deep breath and started the car, feeling a pang of guilt. She hated lying to her mother, but it was for the best, wasn't it?

"Okay, here goes." She took off down the highway and through the familiar streets that she called home for 4 years. Nothing changed. She sighed. She didn't expect it to.

She pulled up in the driveway and opened the car door, seeing 2 cars in the driveway. She grinned. She was right after all.

She walked up to the front door of the house and took another breath before ringing the doorbell. She waited a few seconds before the door opened to reveal a sober looking man who she called father.

"Gabriella?" Chase gasped, not believing this.

"Hey dad." Gabriella whispered, trying to look into the house to see if she could locate the one she was looking for.

"C-come in." Chase invited, blinking slightly and opening the door wider to let his daughter in. Gabriella smiled and accepted the offer, stepping inside the house and gasping.

Chase had gone to rehab. The house no longer had that alcohol odor, he had gotten new furniture, the kitchen wasn't a mess, and the living room didn't have some whore sitting on the couch waiting for a one night stand. It actually looked like a home.

"Oh my God dad. You cleaned up?" Gabriella asked, turning to her father.

Chase smiled warmly and replied "Yeah, I cleaned up my act. You like it?"

Gabriella nodded and was about to say something else when a voice came from upstairs. "Hey dad, who was at the door?"

Gabriella turned to the staircase and teared up as he came running down the stairs, energy rushing through him. She hadn't seen that in a long time.

"Hey, you ther-" He was cut off by the sight of Gabriella standing there and staring at him. He could do nothing but stare back.

"Gabby..." He whispered, his blood turning to mush.

"H-hey Brandon. It's good to see you again." Gabriella sheepishly replied, studying her flip flops.

Brandon slightly laughed "Yeah, it's been a whole week. Can't we go 3 without going crazy?" Gabriella just smiled back at him.

After a few moments of silence, Brandon piped up "Uhh, dad? Can you go make dinner for 3 please?"

Chase nodded and answered "It'll be ready at 6." With that, he walked out of the room to the kitchen.

Brandon sighed and darkly started "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk about what happened." Gabriella confessed, leading herself to the couch. Brandon reluctantly followed.

"Did anyone tell the cops?" Brandon worried aloud, afraid of the answer.

Gabriella shook her head "Chad told the doctor, but Troy said that he fell on the sword when he woke up. His dad, against his will, agreed with him. You should've seen Jack's face when Troy lied to the doctor."

Gabriella grinned when she saw the glint of hope in Brandon's eyes. "He didn't rat me out?"

Gabriella once again shook her head "Nope. See, I told you he doesn't hate you."

Brandon absentmindedly made one smooth movement and pulled Gabriella into a tight, loving hug. "I missed you Gabby. Thanks for coming."

"You're my brother. Why wouldn't I worry about you?"

"Because I almost killed your boyfriend."

Gabriella shrugged "Okay, I'll admit that I'm still a little shaken up by that, but we're family. We need to stick together through thick and thin."

Brandon smiled warmly and sighed "So what do we do now?"

Gabriella copied the sigh and replied "Well, I guess you just hide out here before going back to school. None of the teachers saw what happened since it was lunch they were all in the teacher's lounge. Well, Jack's the assistant coach, so he being a teacher doesn't really count."

Brandon recalled "Yeah, and I think I saw the head coach there too. And I think he was smiling."

Gabriella bit her lip. She couldn't say anything now. Not until Troy gave her the okay.

But Brandon was her brother. She couldn't lie to him. Especially not when people's lives were at stake. She sighed.

"Brandon? Do you remember Samantha Wolf? The girl you dated 5 years ago?"

Brandon nodded sadly. "She killed herself after I broke up with her. I'll never forget that. I feel so guilty. Wasn't she the coach's daughter?"

Gabriella nodded carefully, not replying. It was too risky.

Brandon shrugged "I'm surprised that he doesn't hate me. Any father would call that murder. She killed herself because of me."

Gabriella sighed, not being able to take it anymore. She had to tell him.

"Brandon, there's something you should know."

Brandon, curious, asked "What?"

Gabriella sighed "Well, the reason Troy doesn't hate you is because the-"

_I've seen love die way too many times when it deserved to be alive, and I've seen you cry way too many times when you deserved to be alive, alive..._

Gabriella groaned as her cell phone rang in her ears, signaling a call from Troy. She answered the phone and answered "Hey Troy. How are you feeling?" She saw Brandon's gaze drift to the floor in guilt.

"Fine. Where are you?"

"At Taylor's house. I told you that before I left the hospital."

"Oh that's funny. Because her and Chad just came by and Taylor said that she had no idea where you were."

Gabriella froze. She had completely forgotten to tell Taylor about her plan.

"Oh..." She couldn't say anything after that.

"What's going on?" Brandon loudly whispered. Big mistake. He didn't sound like himself over the phone and the two were sitting close together.

"Who was that?" Troy asked on full alert.

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked, getting worried.

"That person in the background. It sounds like a...it sounds like a guy..."

"Troy I gotta go." Gabriella quickly finished. Mistake number two. "I'll call you later."

"Gabriella-" Troy tried, but it was too late. She had already hung up. And he had a huge feeling that she wasn't calling back...

* * *

**Wow! What do you think is running through Troy's mind right now? What about Gabriella? REVIEW and find out for sure! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Sneak at Next Chapter:**

**- The phone call just adds to Troy's distress**

"_**What happened Troy?" Taylor asked.**_

"_**I heard a guy in the background. I think Gabriella's cheating on me..."**_

**- Gabriella goes through with her plan**

"_**Hi Troy." Gabriella smiled sadly, trying to put across the fact that something bad was about to happen.**_

"_**Hey." Troy replied flatly.**_

"_**Troy, you know that I love you, rig-"**_

"_**Just say it." Troy sighed.**_

"_**Say what?"**_

"_**We're breaking up. You've found another guy and you want to be with him more than me. It's okay Gabby. I understand."**_

"_**WHAT?!"**_

**--**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Trivia:**

**- Gabriella's ringtone is Emergency by Paramore. I used that song earlier in this story in the chapter "Emergency". Her ringtone was Never Too Late by Three Days Grace a while back, but I changed. I didn't want to use the same one twice...**

**- ANOTHER HUGE CLUE TO TROY'S REASON!! This is another missing piece of the puzzle. See if you can guess what it is. It's kinda obvious...**

**- The beginning of the chapter was supposed to the end of last chapter, but last chapter was getting too long**

**Question of the Chapter:**

**Do you think that this story's getting too long? There's still a little bit to get through until the end and we're already at chapter 28. Include your opinion in your review please :)**


	31. I Miss You

**Okay, so I only got 9 entries for the contest, but who cares! It's close enough! lol**

**BTW, let's see if u can guess the first scene in this chapter. It's kind of obvious since it's in italics, but still...**

**Also, I wanna thanks shortytori322821 for the idea of the last line of the italics section. I changed it around a little, but it's basically her idea. Thanks :)**

* * *

_Brandon couldn't believe it. His best friend, his brother since they were 2 months old, had abandoned him. He had ended their friendship all in the course of 5 minutes. They had made a promise to each other that would help them spend more time together and Troy had ruined it. He was alone. Again. The promise, along with the lifelong bond, was broken._

_Brandon felt a wave of fury overtake him as he stomped over to the locker rooms and pushed past the confused team members. _

"They should be my team members too..."_ Brandon angrily thought._

_He made his way over to his group of other friends that consisted of Chad, Zeke, Jason, and, now his ex-friend, Troy. Troy must have felt the heat of the situation for he had his shirt off and was leaning against the cold lockers. His eyes were closed. Brandon knew that he was trying not to cry. But at the moment, he didn't care._

"_Troy!" Brandon demanded, glaring daggers into Troy's bare skin._

_Troy's eyes snapped open, but he didn't turn his gaze over to Brandon. He stared at the lockers in front of him and kept quiet._

"_Troy, look at me!" Brandon again shouted._

_With a sigh, Troy followed orders. He turned his head ever so slowly and flatly said "What?"_

_Brandon, eyes glittering with anger and voice quivering with attempted control, dangerously asked "Are you quitting the team?"_

_Troy squinted his eyes and gave a small, sarcastic smile. "No. Why the hell would I do that?"_

_Brandon clenched his fists and growled "We made a promise Troy. Don't you remember?"_

_Troy slowly bobbed his head into a nod and replied nastily "Yeah, I remember. I just don't think that I should sacrifice my happiness to make you feel better. So you didn't make the team. Doesn't mean you have to be such a selfish wuss about it."_

"_Selfish?"_

"_Yeah," Troy answered in a 'duh' tone. "I mean come on. You're the one that always said how we should always balance out our popularity and stay by each other no matter what! Now when something comes up that'll probably make me more popular than you, which I wouldn't let happen anyway, you try to take it away from me. Yeah, some best friend you are. Just because your life's pathetic doesn't mean that mine has to be the same way!"_

_Brandon's eyes widened and most of the blood in his body rushed to his head in a rage. "What do you mean by my pathetic life? Mine's just as good as yours!"_

_Troy rolled his eyes and scoffed "Yeah right. Your dad's wasted all the time and your mom's cheating on him. Then you're always running to me like a little wimp. We're 13 Brandon, not 3! Grow up!"_

_Brandon tried to hold back, but he couldn't help it. He violently shoved Troy into the lockers and seethed "Don't you EVER talk about my parents like that! You KNOW why my mom's with Charles!"_

_Troy laughed shortly and shot back "Sure. I guess the slut gene really runs in the family."_

_Brandon paled, knowing what and who he was talking about. "What did you say?"_

_Troy evilly grinned "You know exactly what I'm talking about. We all see the way Gabriella jumps on your back in the hallway and sniffs your neck. I'm pretty sure that's incest."_

_Brandon's color quickly started returning to his face. "Troy, don't even go there..."_

"_And then she's always hitting on me, even when I was going out with Sharpay. Then she wears those short skirts that are shorter than her hand! Face it Brandon. Gabriella's pathetic." He walked up to directly face Brandon, their faces inches apart. Troy could feel the rage coming from his body. He whispered "You're a selfish con artist Brandon. You're worthless."_

_Troy gasped when he felt a sudden pain in his nose. He knew that he was just punched. He looked up, but then found himself against the lockers seconds later, being attacked in his stomach. He opened his closed eyes and found Brandon holding him by the neck and throwing furious punches at his muscular torso. Troy lifted his leg and kicked him back in the hip, pushing him off of him. Brandon stumbled back and didn't notice Troy running for him. He looked up and yelped when his head hit the lockers. He sunk to the ground and was immediately lifted and pressed against the wall, his back facing Troy. Troy twisted Brandon's arm and took in his screams and cries for him to let go. Troy grinned victoriously and threw Brandon to the ground. Brandon looked up at his ex-best friend and his eyes automatically widened. This wasn't the Troy Bolton he once knew. He was replaced with a lying, evil person that didn't care for him at all. He could see the once blue eyes he grew to know so well darken into a deadly grey. He was merciless. And he was headed straight for Brandon._

_Brandon, unable to stand from the shock, scurried away on his hands and feet, but was stopped when he felt a sharp shooting pain coursing through his rib cage. Troy repeatedly stomped on his mid section while Brandon was trying to hold in his lunch. But it became too much for him as he turned his head and threw up on Troy's shirt, which was thrown on the floor beside him carelessly. Troy stopped short as he watched the mixture of undigested food and blood spill onto his shirt. His brand new 80 shirt._

"_You stupid son of a bitch." Troy growled, picking Brandon up by the hair and dragging him over to the full length mirror that hung on the wall. Brandon eyes widened as Troy violently drew back Brandon's arm and smashed it into the glass, seeing the shards start to stain with red._

"_AHHH!!" Brandon screamed at the top of his lungs, pretty sure that the rest of the mirror would break from the volume. Troy threw him to the ground again and kicked him in his sides, trying to make him surrender. But Brandon didn't. Instead, he just grabbed Troy's foot and pushed him into the pile of broken glass across the room. Troy landed on his bare back and shouted "SHIT!!"_

_Brandon couldn't stand to see Troy hurt, but in this case, he grinned. He ran over to him and grabbed his neck, holding him down to the ground while he punched him in the face repeatedly. Troy closed his eyes and tried to squirm away, but Brandon's hold was firm, strong, and unforgiving. He could tell that Brandon wouldn't forgive him for this for a long time._

"_WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!" a voice boomed behind the fighting boys. Brandon ignored the coach. He just kept punching and clawing at Troy and held back the boiling hot tears in his eyes._

_He was suddenly pulled from the beaten teenager and pushed into the lockers. He went back for Troy, but was pushed to the ground. He looked up into Chad's furious eyes. He saw the coach run for Troy and guessed that it was him who pulled him away from Troy. No one on the team was strong enough to remove him._

"_What the hell did you think you were doing?" Chad spat in Brandon's face._

"_Get out of my face Danfor-" Slap. He looked up at Chad again, who had a look of hurt drawn across his face, but was pretty much covered with fury._

_Chad shoved Brandon into the lockers one last time before harshly demanding "Get out of here and never come back."_

_Brandon swallowed back the huge lump in his throat and looked at Troy. He was barely conscious and was shakily nodding as the coach whispered things into his ear. He wasn't sure, but Brandon sensed fear coming from his ex-best friend. When Troy looked up at him, that all disappeared into hate as he lowly seethed "We're through."_

_Before turning away, Brandon nodded "Fine. I'm done with you." With that, the black haired teen turned away from the scene and walked out of the locker rooms, feeling the stares and glares from the boys surrounding him. As he ran to his locker to collect his homework, he let the tears roam his pale and bleeding face as he thought back to the song that Troy sang to him 25 minutes ago. _Even if you fall, I won't let you break...

"_Thanks for letting me break Troy. Now I know what kind of person you really are..." He said to himself as he walked out of the building, unwillingly taking the memories with him._

Brandon shot up like a rocket and looked around the dark room. The TV was still on, but the picture was dark. He wiped his sweat soaked forehead and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. It was only a dream. It was only a nightmare. It wasn't happening again. It was in the past and that's where it was going to stay. He was fine.

He sighed heavily and tried to get off the wet couch, but found that he couldn't. He looked down at his chest and smiled at the brunette that was resting on it. Her eyes fluttered open as she mumbled "You're wet."

Brandon grinned "Yeah, you tend to sweat when someone's sleeping on top of you."

Gabriella rolled her eyes and groaned "It's more than that. I've slept on you before and the only time you sweat when you're sleeping is when you have a nightmare."

Brandon sighed again and played with her bangs, thinking about the memory that he dreamed of. He's had that nightmare almost every night since he's been at his father's house and by now he thought that it was trying to tell him something. The coach seemed a little happy that Troy and Brandon were fighting, but tried to hide it. That was one of the many things the confused Brandon about it. The other was why Troy had started mouthing off to him after he glanced at the coach's office. He faintly saw Troy nod before he started insulting him. Then the fear in his eyes when the coach was talking to him on the floor. His bottom lip was quivering and his eyes were watery. At first he thought that it was just the pain, but now it seemed much bigger than that.

"You're right," Brandon confessed "I've had this nightmare every night since I got here."

"The Troy breakup?" Gabriella guessed, a bit of nervousness in her voice.

All Brandon did was nod. He threw his head back into the soft couch and whimpered "I hate to admit it, but I...I...I think I...miss him. God, this is so confusing!"

Gabriella groaned "Please don't mention being confused when it comes to Troy."

Brandon, now on full alert, concerned "What happened?"

Gabriella sighed "I think...I think I need to break up with him."

"What? But I thought you loved him more than life itself." Brandon recalled.

Gabriella replied "I know, but I just don't wanna take anymore risks with you."

Brandon closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He held Gabriella's hand in his as he softly said "Gabby, I'm sorry about everything that's happened since you befriended Troy, but you can't break up with him."

"Why not?"

"Because he'll think that I set you up to do it," Brandon answered obviously "And that will just create a whole other mess."

After thinking for a few moments, Gabriella asked "So you're actually telling me that I should _stay_ with your worst enemy?"

"Yeah," Brandon sighed, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV "As weird as it sounds, I don't want him to hurt anymore than he already is."

"Ha!" Gabriella said loudly "Finally! I got you to say that you don't hate him!"

Brandon rolled his eyes "Yeah, yeah. I've said it before."

Crossing her arms, Gabriella teased "Oh yeah? When?"

Brandon pondered the thought before answering "Remember the time when I..." He stopped. "What about the time I..." He stopped again.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow and predicted "You've got nothing, right?"

Brandon distracted himself from the conversation with "Hey! New episode of Family Guy!"

Gabriella giggled "Typical Brandon..."

--

...Troy, Chad, and Taylor...

Troy stared at the cell phone in his hand, confused. Gabriella had just hung up on him with no reason at all. And she did it quickly, sounding very flustered. But that wasn't Troy's main concern. His mind was on the voice in the background...the male one.

"What happened Troy?" Chad asked, sounding concerned.

Troy blinked for a few seconds, trying to find the answer to that question. What _did_ happen?

"Th-there was a guy in the background," Troy answered, his voice breaking for reasons that he didn't know. "I...I think Gabriella's cheating on me..."

"What?" Taylor piped up, letting go of Chad's hand. "Why would she do that?"

Troy shook his head slowly "I don't know. I guess she's tired of me fighting Brandon, so she's moving on."

"Troy, let's be reasonable," Chad said "Gabriella loves you, we both know that. She wouldn't bail on you, especially now since you're in the hospital because _her_ brother stabbed you. We've all known her for a long time, so we know that she wouldn't do something like that."

"But think about it guys," Troy denied "How would you feel if your boyfriend or girlfriend was spending his time beating up someone you love? You'd try to stop it, but after a while it just gets old. I don't blame her for this."

"Troy, I think you just need to calm down and get some more information about this. Maybe she just went to go visit a family member."

"I doubt it."

Taylor and Chad sighed in unison. They weren't getting anywhere with their friend.

"Troy, do you want me to talk to her?" Taylor asked sweetly.

Troy nodded "Sure. Just don't mention anything about me."

"Well then what else am I supposed to say?"

"Just talk about cheating and see if she looks guilty." Troy shrugged.

Taylor sighed "Okay fine. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Troy thanked her "Thanks Taylor. Well, I'm really tired. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Troy." Chad and Taylor dismissed themselves and walked out the door, still confused about the phone conversation.

--

...The Next Morning...

Gabriella sighed and shut the door to her house. This is how it must have felt for Brandon when she left. Bare and empty. She hated it.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, signaling a text. She opened the phone and read

_Meet me at the mall in 5_

_From: Taylor_

_11:34 4/26/08_

She texted back "_ok_ _c u there_" and grabbed her purse, walked out the door, and drove away in her car.

--

...At the Mall...

Gabriella walked into the mall and looked around the food court, seeking out her best friend. She walked over to the Subway and greeted "Hey Tay."

"Hey Gabby," Taylor smiled, taking out her wallet. "Can you wait a second, I need to eat. I haven't had anything all day."

"Yeah, me neither," Gabriella lied, remembering the chocolate chip pancakes she had from her father's house. "I'm gonna go get some pizza. Be right back."

She walked over to the Dominoes and ordered a slice of extra cheese pizza and a root beer. She paid for it and walked over to the table that Taylor was sitting at. Sitting across from her friend, she started "So, what's going on?"

Taylor shrugged "Nothing. I just need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

Taylor put down her sub and sighed "Where were you on last night? We were supposed to go to the movies."

Again, Gabriella lied "Oh, I had to help my mom with her presentation for work."

Taylor slowly nodded, not buying her excuse. "Oh, well it didn't sound like that over the phone."

"What do you mean?" Gabriella asked, swallowing a bite of her pizza.

Taylor replied "Remember when Troy called you last night?" After Gabriella nodded, Taylor continued "Me and Chad went to the hospital when you didn't show up at the movies and Troy said that you were supposed to be with me. I didn't know what he was talking about so he called you. He was really confused when he hung up and said that it sounded like a guy in the room with you. He didn't recognize the voice and you sounded really rushed, like you wanted to hang up with Troy and get back to whatever you were doing."

Gabriella bit her tongue to keep from telling the truth and said "So what are you saying?"

Taylor sighed "Gabriella, Troy thinks that you're cheating on him."

Gabriella's mouth dropped. "He WHAT?!"

Taylor repeated "He thinks that you were with someone else. Just think about it. You're making up excuses and there was a guy in the room with you. Doesn't it just seem obvious?"

Gabriella shook her head, refusing to believe it. "Taylor, I'm not cheating on Troy! That guy you heard was Brandon! We were sitting right next to each other!"

Taylor denied "But Brandon ran away and didn't tell anyone where he was."

"There's only one place he can go! It's obvious!" Gabriella nearly yelled.

Taylor continued "Then what about the excuses?"

Gabriella explained "I didn't want Troy to come running after me! Oh God, he really thinks that I'm cheating on him?"

Taylor nodded sympathetically "Yeah. I'm sorry Gabby. Just tell him what really happened and maybe he'll change his mind."

Gabriella sighed "Okay. Thanks Taylor."

"Anytime." Taylor replied with a hug.

--

...1 Month Later...

It's been 1 month since the incident with Brandon and Gabriella. Troy made sure to keep his distance from Gabriella by not allowing her into his hospital room. Whenever Gabriella asked to see Troy, Troy told the receptionist to not let her in. He apparently didn't take Taylor's advice to get more information. Gabriella knew why she wasn't allowed in. She couldn't wait until he was out of the hospital and back at school. She would be able to get some alone time with him and explain herself.

Her phone rang. She picked it up and said "Hello?"

"Hey Gabby," Chad greeted. "I've got some news."

"What's up?" Gabriella asked, anxious.

"Troy's allowed to leave the hospital tonight! He's almost fully healed from the sword and as long as he attends his physical therapy, he's home free!"

Gabriella heard her heart scream in happiness and the smile on her face spread to her ears. "Really?! Thank God! It's about time!"

"I know! I was about to kidnap him or something. Anyways, how are you two holding up? You know, after the whole...cheating thing? Does Brandon know about it?"

Gabriella sighed "No, he doesn't. I don't want him to get involved with this. We've already got enough problems."

Chad nodded "Yeah, he's be the last person I tell. Troy told me that he doesn't want to talk to you while he's in the hospital, so that's why you weren't allowed in. He wants to wait until after he's home."

Gabriella let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and said "Oh, I thought he was just avoiding me until he got the guts to talk to me. Thanks for telling me. Oh, when does he go back to school?"

"Next week," Chad answered. "His parents want him to rest a little more until he's completely back on his feet. He's doing pretty good though. He's really excited to leave this place."

"Yeah, I would too." Gabriella joked.

Chad laughed "Yeah, me too. Okay, I gotta go. See you tomorrow."

"Alright. Bye." Gabriella hung up and sat back in her bed. She would finally be able to talk to her boyfriend again and explain herself. The night that Taylor told her about his thoughts, she decided not to break up with him. It would just confirm that she was cheating on him. She refused to let him think that.

"One week. Just wait one week." She whispered to herself before drifting off into sleep.

* * *

**I felt bad about making Gabby break up with Troy, so she's not gonna do it. But be prepared for a big surprise next chapter...**

**REVIEW!! Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Sneak at Next Chapter:**

**- Troy comes back to school**

**_"Hey Troy!" Jason greeted his friend, patting him on the back._**

**_"Good to have you back, Mr. Bolton." Ms. Darbus smiled._**

**_"It's good to be back." Troy smiled back halfheartedly._**

**- Intense Troyella Moment**

**_"Troy, Chad told me that you wanted to talk to me after you got out of the hospital. What's up?" Gabriella smiled, leaning in for a kiss._**

**_Troy quickly darted away. "When did I say that?"_**

**_"But Chad said-"_**

**_"I meant whoever said that I want to talk to you?" Troy glared at her, anger flashing through his eyes._**

**Trivia:**

**- Troy was supposed to come back to school in this chapter, but it was getting too long**

**- 3 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL WE REACH 800!! COME ON PEOPLE, HELP ME GET TO 1,000!! YOU'LL GET THE SEQUAL SOONER IF THAT HAPPENS :)**


	32. Hard Love

**Yeah, you'll hate me when you read this chapter, but it had to be done.**

**7 more days until the deadline for the contest entries! I only got 3 stories, so have yours by the 12th or you're (dun dun dun) disqualified!**

* * *

A week came faster than Gabriella thought. Before she knew it, she was walking through the doors of East High seeing what she was expecting. People were running all over the place with smiles plastering their faces, excited that Troy was finally coming back.

Gabriella just finished getting her books for English and Science when screams could be heard down the hallway. She spun around and smiled when she saw the blue eyed boy in a blue striped polo walk through the doors **(Just think about what Zac wore during the What Time is It video)** with a tired smile on his face. Chad and Zeke were by his sides, trying to protect their friend from the crazy students.

"Hey Troy!" Jason greeted his friend, patting him on the back.

"Good to have you back, Mr. Bolton." Ms. Darbus smiled.

"It's good to be back." Troy smiled back halfheartedly.

Troy was bombarded with more questions and greetings before he reached his locker. He had Chad and Zeke fight off the crowd and leave him alone. Gabriella saw him glance her way and she smiled warmly. He shifted his gaze to the floor and shook his head, shutting his locker and taking off down the hallway. Gabriella's grin fell as she sighed, closing her own locker and following her stubborn boyfriend to homeroom.

When the brunette reached Ms. Darbus's room, she saw Troy with his head resting against his hand, staring at Brandon's empty desk with a sad expression across his face. When he felt Gabriella's eyes on him, he moved his own to the face of his desk, the sorrowful expression still etched on his face. Gabriella's heart dropped. She hated seeing her boyfriend in pain.

"Hey Gabby." Taylor greeted her friend with a smile. "Troy's finally back!"

Gabriella nodded "I know. Thank God."

"Has he said anything to you yet?"

"Nope. Still avoiding me."

Taylor huffed "The nerve of him. How can he still think that you're cheating on him?"

Gabriella shrugged "I don't know. It does make sense if you think about it. I shouldn't have made all those excuses."

Taylor comforted "Don't worry Gabby. He'll come around eventually. Just give him some time. I bet he's still shaken up by the Brandon incident."

Gabriella nodded "I know he is. He keeps staring at his empty desk. He really does miss him."

"I know the feeling," Taylor sighed "I miss Brandon too. When's he coming back?"

Gabriella answered "I don't know. I guess in a few weeks. I just hope everyone forgives him like you and me."

Taylor sympathized "I'm sure they will when they see Troy doing the same thing."

Gabriella nodded, hoping that her best friend was right.

--

...Lunch...

Gabriella sulked to lunch with her head low. She had tried many times to try and talk to Troy, but he always blew her off. It was like they were broken up and avoiding each other.

Suddenly, Sharpay came running up to her and asked "Gabby, can I talk to you?"

Gabriella nodded "Sure, what's up?"

Sharpay took a deep breath and explained "Zeke just asked me out. I really, really like him but I don't wanna ruin our friendship. You've been put through this, so what should I do?"

Gabriella immediately replied "If you like him enough to keep the relationship strong, then go for it. I mean, look at me and...oh never mind. He's avoiding me."

Sharpay sighed "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"That's what Taylor said."

"Well you should listen to her. She's a smart girl."

Gabriella grinned falsely. She looked down the hallway and her eyes locked with Troy's. It looked like he was going to smile at her, but he just quickly glared at her and walked away with Chad to lunch.

She sighed "I'm scared Shar. What if he breaks up with me?"

Sharpay replied "Gabriella, just talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand."

Gabriella nodded and saw Taylor wave to them. She grabbed Sharpay's arm and pulled her in the direction of the cafeteria, her mental script for talking to Troy forming in her head.

--

...After School...

Gabriella grabbed her books that she needed for homework and bolted out the door of the school, rushing to her car. She hopped in the front seat and sped away to Troy's house.

As soon as she pulled into his driveway, she could see that he was already home.

"_Probably trying to avoid me again..."_ she thought to herself.

She sighed and pulled herself from her car, walked up the front steps to the doorstep, and rang the doorbell. In a few seconds, she came face to face with Lucy.

"Hi Gabriella." Lucy smiled, opening the door a little wider to let her in.

"Hi Lucy. Is Troy home?" Gabriella asked, walking into the house that she called home for a month.

"Yeah, he's up in his room. You know where it is." Lucy replied with a smile.

"Thanks." Gabriella rushed up the carpeted stairs and opened the white door on the left. She peeked inside the room to see Troy in his white wife-beater and his jeans from school. He was listening to his iPod with his arm covering his eyes.

"Troy?" Gabriella called softly.

Troy paused the song and curiously looked up to see who called his name, but his eyes darkened into a half glare as he growled "What?"

Gabriella walked over to his bed and sat down beside him, grinning. "Chad told me that you wanted to talk to me after you got out of the hospital. What's up?" she smiled, leaning in for a kiss.

Troy quickly darted away. "When did I say that?"

"But Chad said-"

"I meant whoever said that I want to talk to you?" Troy glared at her, anger flashing through his eyes.

Gabriella looked taken aback. Troy had never spoken to her like this and even though she expected it, it still hurt to hear it actually happening.

"Troy, I know what you're thinking, but I never cheated on-" Gabriella tried, but Troy cut her off.

"Gabriella, we both know what happened, so just let it go. I understand what happened and why you did it."

Gabriella argued "Troy, just stop and let me explain what you think you heard over the phone!"

Troy shot up like a rocket and seethed "I know what I heard Gabriella! I'm not an idiot!"

"I never said you were!"

"Gabriella, why is it so hard to accept the fact that you were tired of me fighting your brother and you just ran off with another guy?! Just come up to me and say it to my effing face! I'll understand!"

"Then why are you getting so angry over this?" Gabriella asked, exasperated.

Troy rolled his eyes "Because you're making up excuses and trying to act like it's not happening! Just get some guts and act like a teenager, not like a 5 year old!"

"Troy, I didn't cheat on you! Just let me explain!" Gabriella pleaded, but Troy softly pushed her off the bed and demanded "Out. Now."

"Troy-"

"Gabriella, just leave. I need time to think and all this stress isn't good for me especially when I'm on medication. Just get out."

Gabriella had to fight away the tears that were making their way up to her eyes and nodded, walking over to the door, whispered "I love you Troy."

"Mmhm..." Troy muttered, playing catch with himself with his basketball pillow.

Gabriella sighed, closed the door, and ran out of the house before anyone got the chance to see her tears.

--

...That Night...

Gabriella sat awake that night in her bed, staring at a picture of her and Troy on Myspace. It was from the night that Isabelle and Sarah went to the movies with them. They were all on Troy's bed and Isabelle was taking the picture. Gabriella was kissing Troy's cheek while Troy was grinning cockily. Sarah was giving a sly grin while Isabelle just simply smiled and gave the peace sign. Good times, good times.

Gabriella clicked the Next button and laughed at the picture. They were all in a downstairs closet that was _extremely_ small. They were all fighting to get out while having painful, hilarious looks on their faces. Troy was elbowing Sarah in the face, Gabriella was pushing herself out by using Troy's shoulder, and Isabelle was struggling to keep Sarah's butt out of her face and take the picture at the same time. Gabriella remembered how they all landed on the living room floor with a thud. They were sore for the rest of the night, especially since Troy was the one who landed on top of everyone and Sarah, being the smallest, was on the bottom.

Gabriella's memory session was ended when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and gasped when she saw who it was.

"Troy?" She answered.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Hey. W-what's up?" Gabriella asked, trying to start a comfortable conversation.

"Can you meet me at the lake in 5 minutes?"

Gabriella froze. The first time they were at the lake together, Troy's ego got hurt. The second time, Gabriella told him that she got hurt. Someone was bound to get hurt this time. Nothing good ever happened to them at the lake.

"S-sure. See you then."

"Bye." With that, they both hung up.

Gabriella gulped. Sliding her sandals onto her feet, she hoped that this would be the first time someone wouldn't get hurt at the lake.

--

...At the Lake...

Gabriella nervously trotted to the bench where her and Troy have met twice before. She sat down and waited for her boyfriend to arrive.

A few minutes later, Troy walked across the bridge to the bench that Gabriella was now sitting at. Gabriella looked up at him and couldn't help but grin slightly. He was so gorgeous under the Albuquerque moonlight. All of his scars were healed and his eyes shone with...sadness? Why was he sad?

"Hey Gabby." He whispered, digging his hands in his pockets.

"Hey yourself," she replied, standing up. "So what's going on? We only meet at the lake when something bad happens."

Troy took a deep breath and looked off to the side. Gabriella felt a pang of horror at her heart. As much as she wanted to ignore it, she kept hearing the same word replay over and over again in her head. _Breakup, breakup, breakup..._

"Gabriella, I've never felt this kind of love before, but...but I just...I don't know. I'm finding it hard to trust you now."

"Troy, I didn't che-"

"I'm not saying that you did," Troy groaned. "I'm just saying that you've been making up excuses and I think that you're hiding something from me. Not necessarily another relationship, but I just remember us saying that we won't hide anything from each other. If you have a problem, I'll try my best to help you, but I can't do that if you're going off and sneaking around my back. You're putting me in a tight situation Gabriella."

"Troy, you're making this harder than it has to be!" Gabriella almost yelled. "If I tell you the truth, will you stop being so stubborn?"

Troy shook his head. "Gabby, I want to give you a chance. I really do. But I just think that...I have a feeling that it's just another lie."

"Troy-"

"I think that we're better off as friends." Troy finally whispered, keeping his gaze to the floor to hide his tears.

"You're breaking up with me without even knowing the truth?!" Gabriella sobbed, not caring if her tears were ruining her makeup.

Troy nodded. "I don't think there is any truth in this. I'm gonna believe what I believe and you can come up with another lie if you want. I don't wanna hear it."

"But Troy-"

"I have therapy in 5 minutes." Troy interrupted, checking his watch. "I'll see you at school."

"But I-" Gabriella couldn't finish. Troy walked off down the bridge and Gabriella had a feeling that he wasn't coming back.

She slid down to her butt and buried her head in her arms. This is what it must've felt like for Brandon when Troy ditched him because of a lie. Brandon...

"Where's your shoulder to cry on when you need it?" Gabriella sobbed to herself. Then she remembered. He ran away to get away from his hellish life.

Running away.

That gave her an idea.

She jumped to her feet and sped home, a plan in her head the whole way.

--

...2 Hours Later...

12:00. Midnight. Perfect timing. Gabriella rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. About a minute later, a very sleepy figure came to the door and grumbled "Whoever the hell you are, do you have any sense of time?"

"Open your eyes and look at me." Gabriella grinned.

The person opened their tired eyes and they automatically widened. They scooped Gabriella into a tight hug and whispered "What are you doing here?"

Gabriella replied tearfully "Troy broke up with me."

"He what?"

"Let me in and I'll explain." Gabriella wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. The person nodded and opened the door wider. Gabriella smiled and stepped inside. She walked over to the couch with the person right behind her. She sat down and heard them say "Okay, what happened?"

Gabriella went through the story that she had lived just 2 hours ago and finished with "...So that's when I thought...c-could I maybe...s-stay here for awhile?"

She saw them nod and smile "Of course you can. We're family."

Gabriella jumped onto their lap and concealed them in a tight hug, mumbling "Thanks Brandon. I owe you one."

Brandon kissed her hair and replied "Just the fact that you're here is all the thanks I need. I love you."

"Love you too." After that, Gabriella drifted to sleep on her brother's chest, feeling all of her problems fade away.

* * *

**Yeah, sorry for making Troy and asshole, but he'll clean it up eventually.**

**Rachel :)**


	33. Save You

**Okay guys, this chapter is the beginning of the end of the story. There's still a little bit to go through, but there's only like 4 more chapters left. And yes, if you're a Simple Plan fan, you'll probably recognize the title of this chapter (Hint hint, wink wink) :)**

* * *

Troy sighed and held his head in his hands. It's been approximately 14 hours and 8 minutes since the Troyella breakup, but who's counting?

The blue eyed teen got absolutely no sleep the night before. He couldn't help but feel that he broke up with her for no reason. He was starting to get the impression that she didn't cheat on him, but he still knew that she was hiding something from him. Why else would she make up those excuses? For her health?

Troy groaned and stood up, throwing his lunch tray in the trash. He ignored the protests and questions that he received from Chad and the gang and turned the corner, letting his feet take him anywhere. He didn't care. He just wanted to get away from the memories of him and Gabriella goofing off at lunch.

He walked for a good 10 minutes before finding himself in a foreign setting. He sighed and walked into the room. The music room. This brought back memories. He and Brandon would go the music room in middle school and goof around with the drums and guitars. Kelsi and Sharpay would help them make up silly songs that they would sing when they were either depressed or bored. They had so much fun before..._it_ happened.

Troy grabbed a stray guitar and sat down on the stool beside the piano. The only people who knew he played guitar were Brandon and Jason. Troy learned when he was 10 and loved it ever since. He took private lessons with Jason, who was a pro guitar player, and was almost as good as him. Jason has played ever since he was 4, so no one could name a non famous person who was more experienced than him.

Troy strummed a few chords and felt the words fly to his brain like wildfire. He was pretty good at making up lyrics quickly, but not like this. It was like a song that he listened to 100 times. He took a deep breath and started singing:

"**Take a breath**

**I pull myself together**

**Just another step till I reach the door**

**You'll never know the way it tears me up inside to see you**

**I wish that I could tell you something**

**To take it all away**

**Sometimes I wish I could save you**

**And there're so many things that I want you to know**

**I won't give up till it's over**

**If it takes you forever I want you to know**

**When I hear your voice**

**It's drowning in a whisper**

**You're just skins and bones**

**There's nothing left to take**

**No matter what I do I can't make you feel better**

**If only I could find the answer**

**To help me understand**

**Sometimes I wish I could save you**

**And there're so many things that I want you to know**

**I won't give up till it's over**

**If it takes you forever I want you to know**

**That if you fall, stumble down**

**I'll pick you up off the ground**

**If you lose faith in you**

**I'll give you strength to pull through**

**Tell me you won't give up cause I'll be waiting if you fall**

**You know I'll be there for you**

**If only I could find the answer**

**To take it all away**

**Sometimes I wish I could save you**

**And there're so many things that I want you to know**

**I won't give up till it's over**

**If it takes you forever I want you to know**

**I wish I could save you**

**I want you to know**

**I wish I could save you..."**

Troy's head shot up like a rocket when he heard the clicks of high heeled shoes take off down the hallway. He sighed one last time before placing the guitar back where he found it and walking out the door, Brandon's face etched in his mind the whole way.

--

...The Next Day...

Troy slowly walked to homeroom the next morning, the lyrics to his song still replaying in his mind. He just couldn't seem to forget them.

He walked into homeroom and smiled at all his friends and classmates. Sharpay sat at her seat in the front of the room filing her nails, humming a tune quietly. Troy just ignored it, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized the tune.

"Shar?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you humming?"

"Oh nothing," Sharpay replied with a grin. "Just something that I heard somewhere. You know it too?"

"I don't know. Where'd you hear it?" Troy asked, afraid of the answer.

"I heard someone playing in the music room yesterday at lunch. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Sharpay cockily asked, raising an eyebrow and the grin on her face widening with every passing second.

Troy groaned and collapsed in Ryan's seat. "How'd you find me?"

"Me and Kelsi went to go look for you after you left and heard something in the music room. I didn't know you played guitar."

Troy shrugged "Brandon and Jason are the only ones who know."

"So I'm guessing you learned back when you and him were still friends." Troy nodded and lowered his gaze to the desk in front of him.

Sharpay sighed "Troy, just tell him the truth."

"What truth?"

"Troy, I know why you ditched him back in 7th grade. I know about who's forcing you to stay away from him."

The color in Troy's face drained and his eyes widened. "How'd you know about that?" He asked lowly.

"I found out the day after it happened. Chad just can't seem to keep his mouth shut, now can he?"

"Asshole..." Troy growled, glaring at his friend who was flirting with Taylor.

"Troy, you have to end this. It's child abuse." Sharpay worried aloud.

Troy nodded "I know. It's been happening for 5 years now. I'm getting sick of it. Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"I didn't want you to feel pressured even more. I figured that you already had enough weight on your shoulders."

Troy nodded as a thank you. "Thanks. It worked."

Sharpay giggled "What are friends for?"

Troy outstretched his arms and Sharpay accepted them, concealing him in a friendly hug. "You're a lifesaver Sharpay."

"Me?" she asked, shocked. "You're the one who's saving Brandon from that monster."

"I know," Troy sighed "But it's people like you who kept me from cracking."

Sharpay just smiled and nodded. At that moment, the bell rang and Ryan came flying in, covered in sweat.

"Woah!" Troy said, getting out of the blonde's seat. "What happened to you?!"

Ryan, breathing heavily, answered "Car...ran out...of gas. Had...to...run...in 3 minutes."

Sharpay shuddered. "Thank God I caught the bus and didn't catch a ride with you."

Ryan nodded and fell into his seat. Troy maneuvered over to his seat a few desks away and waited for the morning announcements to end, Sharpay's words still replaying in his mind.

--

...2 Days Later...

It's been 3 days since the Troy and Gabriella split and mysteriously, Troy hasn't seen her since. He was actually starting to worry about her. What if this was a blast from the past? Brandon broke up with a girl in middle school and she killed herself because she actually thought that he loved her.

"Don't worry Troy," Chad comforted his friend, as if reading his thoughts. "I'm sure that she's just sick."

Troy slowly shook his head. "I don't know man. I don't have a very good feeling about this."

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day. As Troy stood up, he froze. A plan started forming in his mind. He grinned and ran out the door to his car.

10 minutes later, Troy pulled up to a familiar house. He got out of the car and trotted up the stairs. He rang the doorbell and anxiously waited for an answer.

When the door opened, the person answered perkily "Troy! Hi!"

Troy smiled nervously "Hi Ms. Montez. Is Gabriella home?"

Gina sighed "Sadly, no. I haven't seen her for the past 2 days. Oh! Where are my manners? Come in!"

Troy nodded and stepped inside the house that he hasn't been in for 5 years, besides Gabriella's room.

"Are you hungry? I'm making brownies." Gina offered, leading him to the kitchen.

"Sure, I haven't eaten all day." Troy gratefully accepted. "The school was serving tuna casserole today."

Gina laughed and pulled the freshly baked brownies out of the oven. "So, what brings you here? Surely you've known that Gabriella hasn't been around for a few days."

Troy nodded and sighed, pulling a brownie from the plate. "That's what I came to talk to you about. I...uhh...broke up with her on Monday and haven't seen her since."

"Oh my God. Why?" Gina gasped.

Troy sheepishly said "A while ago, we made a promise to never hide anything from each other while we were together. I called her while I was in the hospital and she sounded really rushed and nervous. Then I heard a guy in the background."

"Oh my God. Was she cheating on you?"

Troy shook his head "I thought she was at first, but then everyone came to me and said that she wasn't. She kept telling me that she wasn't and I eventually believed her, but she still didn't tell me what she was hiding. I just found it hard to keep trusting her after that, so I broke up with her until she could tell me."

Gina sighed and finished her half eaten brownie. "Wow. Who would've thought that my daughter could get herself into such a mess?"

Troy laughed and took another brownie. "Yeah. But now I have a feeling that I broke up with her for no reason. Like she was hiding something from me for a reason."

Gina grinned "Well, I know Gabriella and she would never hurt the one's she loves, including you. Trust me, she can't stop talking about you."

Troy blushed and stuffed the brownie in his mouth to keep from saying anything else.

Gina just laughed again and said "You know, Gabriella and Brandon are alike in so many ways. If they weren't twins, I would be kinda scared. Anyways, do you remember that time last where Brandon didn't come to school for a week?"

Troy nodded.

"He was fighting with you and got sick of it, so he ran to his father's house just to be with Gabriella. He figured that she was the only person who could help him, even if his father was there."

Troy nodded, looking at the ground when she mentioned him fighting with Brandon.

"He came back home with a new energy in him. I knew that those two helped each other out a lot, but never like that. It was like nothing was wrong in his life."

Troy sighed, keeping his gaze on the ground.

"Chase called me a few months ago and told me that he had gotten out of rehab. He was a whole new person and you could tell he wasn't lying. He was permanently sober."

Troy smiled and reached for another brownie, but it immediately dropped as he froze. His eyes widened as a thought ran through his mind.

"Are you alright Troy?" Gina asked, noting his strange behavior all of a sudden.

"You said that Brandon ran to his dad's house when things got complicated around here?"

Gina nodded.

"Gabriella was there and helped him feel better about it. They're alike in a lot of ways and always run to each other when things get hard. Your ex got out of rehab a few months ago and then Brandon ran away after he stabbed me without telling anyone where he was going. Then Gabriella just ran away a few days ago." Troy looked up at Gina, who had a confused look on her face. "Ms. Montez, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Gina continued to think for a few moments before gasping "Are you saying that she's at her father's house?"

Troy nodded "This is probably the same situation that happened last year, only it's Brandon who's helping out Gabriella instead of the opposite."

Gina smiled widely and threw her arms around Troy. "Troy, you're a genius! Thank you so much!"

Troy hugged her back and replied "Don't worry about it. It was nothing."

Gina parted from her daughter's ex boyfriend and said "No, you helped me find my children! I was about to send a search party to find her!"

"What about Brandon? He's been gone for a month and a half now."

Gina answered "I knew he was there. Where else would he be?"

Troy shrugged "He could've gone to Isabelle's house."

"Who's Isabelle?"

Troy laughed "She's my cousin that moved here a few months ago. Brandon saved her from getting raped at our last dance and they eventually got together. But then she moved back to California."

Gina huffed and placed her hands on her hips "Why wasn't I informed that Brandon was with someone who wasn't Amy?"

Troy again laughed "I don't know. I was trying to forget about it too."

Gina rolled her eyes playfully, then said "Troy, can I ask you something?"

Troy nodded "Sure. What is it?"

"What happened 5 years ago?"

Troy again froze. He sighed and whispered "I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

"Troy..."

"Ms. Montez, I promise you that you'll eventually find out, but I just can't tell you now."

"Do you honestly hate my son?"

Troy shook his head "Not at all. Brothers can't ever hate each other."

Gina smiled "Good. That's all I wanted to know. When can I find out the reason?"

Troy answered "Hopefully in a few days. I need to get this whole thing over with. I've waited way too long."

Gina nodded "Please bring my kids back to me. You can get them to come back easier than I can."

Troy skeptically asked "What about Brandon? I'm afraid to get on the bus with him on it, let alone the same car."

Gina shook her head "He took his car and so did Gabriella."

Troy sighed "Good point. Okay, I'll do it."

Gina hugged him again "Thank you Troy. You're a lifesaver."

Troy smiled "Again, no problem. I'll hopefully be back tomorrow."

Gina nodded "Alright. And Troy?"

"Yeah?"

Gina took out a container and put the rest of the brownies in it. "Take these. Give some to Chase too. He can't resist them, just incase he refuses to let them leave, which I doubt will happen but hey, you never know."

Troy smiled at her and took the box. "Thanks Ms. Montez."

"Troy, please call me Gina. You've known me for years and Ms. Montez makes me feel so old."

"Okay. Thanks Gina."

With that, Troy ran out of the house and got into his car. When he was about to pull away, he said to himself "Oh shit." He stopped the car and got out. He opened the door to the Montez house and called "Gina?"

"Yeah?" Gina came out of the kitchen with chocolate on her hands, obviously making more brownies.

"I forgot to ask for the address to the house."

"Oh! Of course, silly me." She washed her hands and wrote down the directions for the house. She gave them to Troy and said "Thanks again for this Troy. You really are a son to me."

"Not in the last 5 years, but before, you were like a second mom to me."

Gina nodded with a smile and ushered him out of the house. Troy got back into his car and started it again, starting to the house that would unknowingly change his life forever.

* * *

**Yay! The next 2 or 3 chapters will be the most shocking chapters EVER! Just a warning, you'll be on the edge of your seat. Troy's reason finally comes out next chapter!**

**Oh yeah, and 2 more days until the deadline for the contest! I've only gotten 3 stories and there were 9 entries! Come on people! I wanna read what you've read :)**

**Rachel :)**

**Sneak At Next Chapter**

**- Troy arrives at Chase's house**

**_The door finally opened. "Umm, hello." Chase greeted, confused._**

**_"Hi Mr. Montez. I-I'm Troy Bolton. Is Gabriella here?"_**

**- Troyella make up**

**_"So we're good?" Troy asked, outstreaching his arms._**

**_"Yeah. I love you Troy." Gabriella replied, burrying herself in Troy's chest._**

**_"Love you too Gabby."_**

**- Troy's reason is revealed**

**_"You lied to me and ruined my life! How can I forgive you for that?!" Brandon yelled._**

**_"Just let me explain Brandon." Troy calmly said, taking a step forward._**

**_"Explain what?! How you never cared about me?!"_**

**_"No! How I've spent the last 5 years protecting you from getting killed!" Troy finally exploded, causing Brandon to back up._**

**_"What?" Brandon whispered._**

**Trivia**

**- Troy was supposed to sing the song after school, but I decided not to**

**- The song is "Save You" by Simple Plan (Going back to the first author's note)**

**Announcments:**

**One more thing. shortytori322821 made the trailer for the first episode of this on youtube. She's making this into a series on youtube! Gotta love her! She wants 8 comments before finally uploading the first episode! Go watch it and comment! Her penname on youtube is the same as it is on here.**

**Plus, I also deleted most of my oneshots and songfics and just made a "story" with them. It's called "BlackBeauty613's Oneshot's and Songfics" So if you're looking for one of my short stories and you can't find it, just click on that story and rummage through the chapters until you find it :)**


	34. Forgiven

**Okay, people, this is the chapter that you've all been waiting for! Troy's famous, unknown reason comes out! After you read the chapter, try going back in the story and check out all the clues. Then see if you can piece them together and get the reason :)**

**Another thing, my contest ended 4 days ago and I only got 4 or 5 entries. The winner was "Frozen" by horsesmakemehappy. She'll be recieving the story being added to my fave list, her being added to my fave list, and she gets to read the chapter before anyone else. Plus, she gets to help me write the sequal to this story (I brainstormed last night and got some prett good ideas)**

**First Place: "Frozen" by horsesmakemehappy**

**Second Place: "Frozen" by ilyilyx3 (She'll get the story placed in my fave list and a preview of the story until the end)**

**Third Place: "Never Too Late" by Roots-Before-Brances**

**Fourth Place Place: "Broken Heart" by shortytori322821**

**Fifth Place: "I Remember" by Sarah590**

* * *

Troy pulled up to the white house and looked it over. It was a typical 2 story house with a green door, a hanging rocking chair on the left side of the porch, and a welcome mat in front of the door. A little plain, but nothing suspicious.

Troy stopped in the driveway and got out of the car, locked it, and slowly made his way up the wooden steps. He took a deep breath and just stared at the doorbell. What if Gabriella wasn't there? What if Gabriella and her dad were out and it was only Brandon that was home? What if Mr. Montez kicked him out when he found out Troy was here to see Gabriella? So many questions and "What if..."s were running through his mind at the moment, but he eventually bucked up the courage he needed to bring his hand in front of his face and ring the doorbell.

He waited a few moments before someone answered it. Troy now stood in front of a middle aged man who looked to be 35. He had shaggy black hair and chocolate brown eyes that immediately sent an image of Gabriella to his mind. His long bangs hung in front of his eyes, neat and organized. He had Gabriella's eyes and Brandon's hair. This was _definitely_ Mr. Montez.

"Uhh...hi." Troy nervously greeted, trying to keep his gaze in the man's eyes and not the porch floor.

"Hi. Can I help you?" Chase replied, confusion flashing in his friendly eyes.

"Y-yeah. I-is Gabriella here?" Troy stuttered. Why he was nervous, he didn't know. It wasn't like he didn't meet Chase before. The last time he spoke to him was 6 years ago before he divorced Gina.

"Yes she is. What's your name?"

"Troy Bolton. I'm sure that my name's come up sometime with either her or Brandon." Troy replied, his confidence growing with how nice Chase was.

Chase nodded, opening the door to allow the teen in. Troy smiled in response, stepping into the modern looking house. It reminded him of the Montez house back home.

Chase walked over to the banister and called "Gabby! Can you come down here for a second?"

"Sure!" Gabriella replied. Troy heard music pause from the upstairs. He guessed that she was either listening to the radio or was listening to iTunes on her laptop.

In a matter of seconds, footsteps came pounding down the stairs and Gabriella started "What's u...Troy?" She froze when she saw his blue eyes staring back into her own.

"Hey Gabby." Troy replied quietly, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Uhh...hey. W-what are you doing here?" Gabriella asked, rubbing her arm while she finished her journey down the steps and over to Troy and her father.

"I was talking to your mom and we figured out that you were here. She gave me directions and here I am." He finished with a small laugh. "It's good to see you again."

"Same here." Gabriella whispered with a smile. They just stood there smiling at each other until Chase cleared his throat loudly at his daughter.

"Oh!" Gabriella piped up after realizing that the cough was for her. "Dad, this is Troy, my boyfriend."

Troy's eyes widened. Her _boyfriend_? He clearly remembered them breaking up.

"Oh Troy," Chase recalled, crossing his arms. "I remember that name. How've you been?"

Troy nodded "I've been good. Been better, but I'm fine."

Chase nodded as he eyed Troy. You could barely tell that he was a constant fighter. He didn't have many bruises or scars, probably from not getting hit in the last few months.

Suddenly, another pair of footsteps stampeded down the stairs and a masculine voice called "Hey Gabby, I need to show you this video on Youtu-"

The air grew still. The tension returned to the room. Blue stared into brown as Brandon froze on the spot, staring at Troy who had also frozen.

"What are you doing here?" Brandon growled.

"What do you care?" Troy glared right back, not wanting to but couldn't help it. Brandon _stabbed _him for God's sake.

"Because this is temporarily my house and if you don't get out right now, I swear to God I'll-"

"Tough talk for someone who ran away from their problems." Troy interrupted "And do you honestly think that _you_ should be the one who's talking to me like that? What, stabbing me isn't enough?"

"Troy, don't even go there." Brandon lowly said, fire in his voice.

"He's right Troy." Gabriella fearfully added, stepping in between the two boys. "Please, not here."

Troy gave Brandon one last evil look before nodding. "Can I talk to you in private for a second?" He asked softly.

Gabriella nodded and quickly led Troy out of the room and into the kitchen. She shut the door that separated the living room from the kitchen and started "What's up?"

Troy sighed "I'm sorry about that. It's just that...I don't know. I got caught up in the moment I guess."

Gabriella smiled sympathetically "Don't worry about it. At least you two didn't get physical."

Troy nodded shamefully. He then walked a little closer to his ex girlfriend and said "Gabby, you know that I didn't ask to talk to you to apologize for the outburst, right?"

Gabriella nodded, looking at the floor.

"I know that this may not make you forgive me for breaking up with you, but I know that you're not cheating on me. I knew that a while ago, but I just found it hard to trust you. You were hiding this behind my back. Why?"

Gabriella sighed "I knew that you would chase after me. That wouldn't blow over well with Brandon, so I just decided to not tell you. I'm sorry I tried to lie. It was just the first thing that came to my mind. Do you forgive me?"

Troy laughed "Gabby, you should be the one forgiving me. I had no right to just jump to conclusions like that. Do you forgive me?"

Gabriella smiled. He really was sweet, one of the reasons why she fell in love with him in the first place.

"Of course I do. How can I say no to you?" Gabriella giggled.

"So we're good?" Troy asked, outstretching his arms.

"Yeah. I love you Troy." Gabriella replied, burying herself in Troy's chest.

"Love you too Gabby."

--

The newly reunited couple walked out of the kitchen five minutes later, their hands laced together. Brandon sat on the couch beside his father, glaring at Troy the whole way.

"So what happened?" He sarcastically asked.

Troy rolled his eyes and answered "We made up. I hope you packed your stuff while we were gone, because your mom really wants you home. Let's go Montez."

Gabriella piped up "Troy, wait a minute."

She walked them both a few feet away from Brandon and Chase and said "Troy, I'm only gonna leave on one occasion."

"What is it?"

"Tell Brandon the truth."

Troy froze. He stared at his girlfriend and dropped his jaw. He had been planning on telling Brandon the truth soon, but only when he was ready. This just came as one big shock to him.

"Gabby-"

"Troy, I know that you're not ready to do this, but I don't wanna have to ride in a car for 2 hours with you two constantly mouthing off to each other. I need you to do this for me and for yourself."

"But what if he doesn't believe me?" Troy observed, trying to find a way out of the situation.

"Believe me, he will if you use enough proof."

"What about _him_?" Troy shuttered, referring to the man who had ruined his life and Brandon's.

"Just call the police. I'm sure that they'll take care of it. No matter how many techniques he knows, he won't escape prison."

Troy sighed. She wasn't kidding. She would stay here if Troy didn't fess up and tell Brandon the truth about that horrible day 5 years ago.

"Okay."

"Really?" Gabriella beamed.

"Yeah," Troy sighed "I was planning to tell him the truth in a few days anyway. But I guess the sooner he knows, the better."

"Thanks Troy. I owe you one." Gabriella thanked him.

"Gabby, you owe me nothing. You have nothing to do with this." Troy refused.

"Yes I do. You're saving my brother from any more depression." Gabriella replied, taking Troy's hand in hers.

Troy nodded with a tired grin. He didn't even tell Brandon yet but the thought was already draining him.

"Okay. Let's get over there." Troy sighed, walking back towards the two Montez boys.

Brandon glared at Troy and shrugged "So?"

Troy looked over at Gabriella who had sat in between Brandon and her father. Gabriella gave him a nod and a small smile.

Troy sighed "Brandon, come here."

"What?"

"Follow me. I need to talk to you." Troy repeated, seeing the confused, but angry look on his ex-best friend's face.

"Why? To get some payback at me for stabbing you?" Brandon growled, noting the fact that Troy was pointing to the kitchen. The room with very large, sharp knives.

"The last thing I wanna do is fight with you. Just...follow...me." Troy finished slowly.

Brandon took a deep, shaky breath and rolled his eyes, following Troy into the kitchen.

Once the door was shut, Troy turned to Brandon, who stood there with his arms crossed.

The two spent an awkward and eerie silence in the room for a few minutes. Their eyes bore into each other's skin, hate flashing in Brandon's and regret deep inside Troy's.

Troy didn't know what to say. _"I'm sorry for ruining our lives. It wasn't my fault because you started it. You just had to break up with Samantha and piss off her dad. So, yeah, I'm sorry. Wanna go get some pizza on the way back home?"_ Yeah, like that would work. He had to be clear and direct with this. If he stuttered, Brandon might take it as a lie. The Montez had already lost all respect for Troy. Why make it worse?

He had to try. He had to look Brandon in the eyes and tell him the honest truth. There would be no little white lies, no rude or sarcastic remarks from any of them. Just Troy, Brandon, and the truth that was held from Brandon for 5 years. They were once brothers and, deep inside their hearts, still were. No one with a bond that strong could ever hate each other. He had to do this. For the sake of his life and Brandon's.

Troy was pulled from his thoughts when Brandon slightly laughed "That's low Bolton."

"What is?" Troy asked, confused.

Brandon shook his head slowly and grinned slightly. He placed his hands on his hips and replied with fire "The fact that you came all this way just to steal the one good thing that I have left in my life. I didn't know you could be that cruel. Good job Troy."

Troy groaned "Brandon, just stop. Your mom and I figured out that you two were here and she asked me to get you. Plus, I wanted my girlfriend back."

Brandon scoffed "Oh please! You broke up with her because you thought she was cheating on you! Why did you want her back?"

"Because I was being an ass."

"Aren't you always?"

"Brandon, just shut up and let me explain!" Troy demanded, raising his voice.

Brandon rolled his eyes, which still carried hate and annoyance, and slowly nodded, looking off to the side.

Troy sighed "I'm sorry for these 5 years that we've been fighting. It wasn't what I wanted, but I had no choice. It wasn't my fault."

"Bullshit." Brandon flatly said, still not looking at Troy.

Troy mixed a sigh with a groan as he pleaded "Brandon, just let me give you my full reason and then maybe you'll consider forgiving me."

Brandon froze, turned his head to his worst enemy, and yelled "Forgive you?! You lied to me and ruined my life! How can I forgive you for that?!"

"Just let me explain Brandon." Troy calmly said, taking a step forward.

"Explain what?! How you never cared about me?!"

"No! How I've spent the last 5 years of my life protecting you from getting killed!" Troy finally exploded, causing Brandon to back up.

"What?" Brandon whispered.

Troy closed his eyes, trying to conceal his tears. He had expected this to happen. No one just blew off the fact that they were targeted for murder. He had to explain this without any hesitation.

He finally took a deep, shaky breath and started explaining "5 years ago you dated Samantha Wolf, the coach's daughter. She thought that she loved you, but you broke up with her and she committed suicide."

Brandon, staring at Troy, just nodded, dazed.

Troy continued without ease "The coach was devastated. He thought that it was your fault that Sam died, so he planned to murder you."

"What?" Brandon gasped, losing all the breath he had left.

"Just wait until I'm done. The coach wanted to kill you and then you tried out for the basketball team. He figured that that would be the easiest way to get to you, so he immediately planned to have you join the team. But then he found out that we were like brothers and he heard you say that you wouldn't know what to do with yourself if I left you. He figured that it would hurt you more if your best friend left you than to just kill you altogether, so he called me into his office. He...you with me so far?" Troy stopped, seeing the completely frozen and faraway look in Brandon's eyes. Brandon just nodded slowly, having to lean against the wall from dizziness.

Troy nodded "Okay, so I walked into his office and was immediately shoved against the wall. He was screaming things in my face and said 'I won't kill your friend if you make him wish he were dead. If you tell him about this, then I'll kill both of you.' He punched me in the face and ordered me back out to the gym."

"That's why you were so pale that day..." Brandon recalled, his eyes bringing back the life that they once held.

Troy nodded "You noticed?"

"How could you not? Everyone did."

"Oh," Troy bowed his head to the ground in embarrassment and shame for being so weak so early in the plan. "Brandon, I've been getting beaten and abused by Coach Wolf just to save your life. So don't you dare say that I don't care about you. You were my best friend and still are. I refuse to call Chad or anyone else my brother because I knew that you would one day have that title again. So yeah, I did lie to you for 5 years, but it was only to save your life. And I know that it's a crazy story, but every word of it is true. Every single fight we had was all forced. You were my worst enemy, but I can't live without you man."

Brandon just stood there against wall, his arms pressed against it like he was cornered. He couldn't believe this. He was a death target just because he broke up with Wolf's daughter. It was insane.

"S-so you never h-hated me?" the black haired boy stuttered out, gulping.

"I could never hate you." Troy answered, his eyes softening with every word he said.

Brandon's confidence and voice grew back to him as he surveyed "Even after _all_ those things I said and those times I put you in the hospital and almost _killed_ you?"

Troy shook his head "I'm the one who threatened Isabelle and you were just doing your part as her boyfriend to teach me a lesson about hurting the one you loved. And those times I put you in the hospital were good. It showed how angry and messed up you were. I don't blame you for any of it."

Again, Brandon just stood there, staring at Troy. He still couldn't believe it. Was Troy really telling the truth? Were the past 5 years of their lives all a lie?

"You're not lying, are you?" Brandon spoke in disbelief. It didn't sound like a question, more like a statement.

Troy shook his head "I would never lie about something like this. I just did what I had to. I hurt you to protect you."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Brandon asked, his hate for Troy melting away with each word that was said.

Troy scoffed "Wolf knows how to escape prison. He's not afraid of the law. It's just a minor setback to him in his plan."

Brandon kept trying to find flaws in this unbelievable story. "What about Gabriella? She was my only sense of comfort."

Troy immediately answered "Remember the nude picture that was sent around a few months ago?"

Brandon nodded.

"Wolf made me do it," Troy admitted "Apparently, it was payback at her for moving here. He planned more for her, but when she started ignoring you, he figured that you were worse than ever. I never wanted to hurt Gabriella, I was just doing Wolf's dirty work."

"That's why you threatened Isabelle," Brandon observed, his eyes widening "I couldn't be happy, so you forced her to break up with me."

Troy nodded sadly and regretfully. "Wolf bought the property that my aunt planned to get to build their new house on so that they would have to move back to California. He gave it to his nephew who just came back from collage."

Brandon couldn't stand anymore. He quickly slid down to his butt on the floor and tried to keep his breathing under control. This couldn't be happening. He breaks up with a girl who was given signs and this is what happens? He's on the top of someone's death list because of that? Samantha Wolf was always emotional. Lots of people attended her funeral, including Brandon. He just felt so at fault. But in time, he got over it. It only took a week. Troy was how he got over it. They hung out a lot more and soon Brandon was on top of the world again. But a week after Samantha's death, Troy ditched him. His thoughts of Samantha came back a little, but were buried under his rage for Troy. He would think about his ex-girlfriend every once in a while, but it never really crossed his mind completely until now. Guilt built in his heart now.

Brandon walked over to the stool in the kitchen and buried his head in his hands. "I'm so stupid," he mumbled before re-revealing his pale face to Troy. "I should've known that you wouldn't just bail on me like that for no reason. God, this is just so damn crazy!"

Troy smiled softly and made his way over to Brandon. He placed a hand on his shoulder and comforted "Brandon, don't blame yourself for this. Coach Wolf is the crazy one."

Brandon giggled "Yeah, he's always been a little insane, hasn't he?"

He and Troy shared a quick laugh before Troy sat in the stool opposite from Brandon and spoke up "Dude, I can't tell you how sorry I am." Brandon looked up at Troy with sad eyes, his head in his hands. "You have no idea how hard it was to walk away from you at those basketball tryouts."

Brandon closed his eyes and slightly grinned. His voice broke as he replied "You don't know how hard it was to _watch_ you walk away. That really hurt me man."

Troy nodded sadly "That'll always be my biggest regret in life. I'll never forgive myself for that."

After that was spoken, silence. Neither knew what to say next. Troy spaced out while Brandon just stared at him. The look on Troy's face showed him that he wasn't playing around or making up any of it. He was truly, genuinely sorry. That was the Troy Bolton that Brandon thought had been lost for 5 years.

"Can I make a deal with you?" Brandon piped up, looking at Troy with friendship in his eyes.

Troy nodded "Sure. What is it?"

Brandon stood up from his stool and walked over to Troy. Brandon said "I'll forgive you for these past 5 years and if you forgive yourself for something that wasn't even your fault. I mean, you could've avoided the beatings and just let him kill me."

Troy's eyes darkened. "I would never let that happen. Seeing you cry is bad enough. I wouldn't be able to stand not ever seeing you again."

Brandon smiled "Thanks. So, we have a deal?"

Troy eyed Brandon's hand for a few seconds before smiling and reaching to shake it, agreeing "Yeah, we're good."

Just as Troy's hand was about to touch Brandon's, he pulled back abruptly. Brandon looked at him, a confused look etched across his face. "What's wrong?"

Troy grinned and held out his hand. "Brothers?"

Brandon froze. Did Troy just ask to be his brother again? What should he say? They had just made things clear between them, but Brandon didn't know if he could just up and label Troy as his brother so soon into the make-up.

But it's been 5 years. 5 years of crying himself to sleep at least once a week because the image of Troy's hateful, 12 year old eyes haunted his dreams. Did he really want to go through that again? Which should he choose? Abruptly taking Troy back and not giving the friendship any time to heal or go back to those cold, lonely nights in his room, giving the bond some time. His mind was so jumbled at the moment, he almost shook his head and said no, but one of the most important memories jumped into his brain.

**FLASHBACK (6 Years Ago, No One's POV)**

_Troy and Brandon sat at the swings, laughing their hearts out. The 11 year old friends jumped off of their swings at the same time, seeing who could jump the furthest. Just like the past 25 times they've done this, Troy won._

"_Aww man!" Brandon cried, his half-developed voice ringing in Troy's ears. "Rematch!"_

_Troy laughed "Brandon, we've rematched 24 times already! I won fair and square! And my butt's starting to hurt."_

_Brandon frowned, but soon it melted into a smile. "Okay. You're my best friend, so I'll say yes."_

_Troy smiled thankfully "Thanks Brandon. You really are my best friend. Chad would've gone on until he won."_

"_He never would. No one can beat you." Brandon complimented._

_Troy grinned "Thanks. What should we do next?"_

_Brandon shrugged "I don't know. How about we go play on the monkey bars?"_

_Troy nodded "Sure."_

_As they made their way across the city park, Troy stopped and turned to Brandon._

"_What's wrong Troy?" Brandon asked, confused._

"_What did I do to deserve you?" Troy asked._

"_Huh?"_

"_We met when we were 2 and I was a big butt-hole to everyone in my day care. I didn't have any friends except Chad. Everyone was too scared of me...except you. Why did you give me a second chance?"_

_Brandon shrugged "I don't know. I knew that you were nice when you weren't around other kids. You eventually opened up to me and we've been friends ever since. Why?"_

_Troy smiled "Can you promise me something?"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Let's promise that no matter what happens, we'll always be right there for each other. If I move away, we'll call each other every day and visit each other every weekend. I don't wanna lose you."_

_Brandon couldn't help but feel touched at his best friend's words. He loved Troy like a brother. Why wouldn't he stand by him?_

"_Of course I promise that! Why wouldn't I?" Brandon exclaimed._

_Troy shrugged "I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like I wanna go back to being mean to people, but you always change my mind. It's like you're too good for my friendship."_

_Brandon shook his mind "Never. And if you go back to being mean, I'll just slap you back to your senses."_

_The two shared one more laugh before Troy held out his hand. "Brother's till the end?"_

_Brandon nodded and took Troy's hand, doing their secret handshake. "Anyone who denies it is gonna get a real butt-whooping."_

**END FLASHBACK**

Brandon continued to stare at Troy's hand. What was he going to choose?

He finally looked up into Troy's eyes and grinned, taking Troy's hand in his. "Brothers." He smiled.

Troy smiled broadly, relief washing through him. He felt Brandon ball up his fist and silently encouraged Troy to do the same. Troy grinned and did the same. They pounded each other's fists, slapped their now opened hands, pretended to spit in their hands, and shook hands again.

Troy laughed "Wow! Didn't think you remembered that."

Brandon scoffed with a smile "Of course I do! We've always been brothers. Nothing can tear us apart."

Just as Troy was about to reply, the sound of a gun being cocked filled the two teen's ears. The spun around and froze when they found themselves looking into the furious, deadly eyes of Coach Ben Wolf.

"Except me."

* * *

**On the plus side, Troy and Gabby made up, Troy and Brandon are bros again, and you all know what happened 5 years ago! On the down side, a gun's being put to the boys' heads. Wonder how that'll blow over? REVIEW and find out! :)**

**Rachel :)**


	35. Your Guardian Angel

**Okay, I was gonna post this tomorrow, but I couldn't help it. My mom fell asleep so I don't have to go to bed! This is a drop your jaw, violent, and emotional chapter, so just prepare yourself. You'll hate me after this because someone gets hurt so bad they'll have to go to the hospital...**

* * *

Troy and Brandon froze, their hearts racing at the speed of light. Coach Wolf stood there with the gun held tightly in his hands, grinning like mad. His eyes were stone cold and unforgiving, showing the pure fury that had built up in his heart for 5 years for Brandon. He glared at the two boys, teasing them with the occasional impression that he was about to pull the trigger.

"Troy, Troy, Troy." Wolf sighed, shaking his head. "You stupid teenager. Now why on earth would you tell about our little secret after all these years? I though we were having fun."

"There was no moment of fun with you Wolf. And how the hell did you get in here anyway?" Troy growled.

"Ohh, testy. I just opened the basement and walked up the stairs without being noticed." Wolf grinned, turning the gun in Brandon's direction. "Maybe I'll just teach you a quick lesson on respect for your coach."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Troy nearly shouted, stepping in front of his best friend.

Wolf laughed at Troy's attempt to protect Brandon. He was so desperate.

"Aww! Isn't that cute. The two most annoying, punk ass teenagers in the country are protecting each other." Wolf crooned, tightening his grip on the gun with every word that came out of his mouth.

"Bastard..." Brandon muttered under his breath, thinking that Wolf couldn't hear. It didn't work.

"I wouldn't be talking, you murderer!" Wolf shouted, cocking the gun again. Brandon kept his mouth shut.

"Don't talk to my best friend like that!" Troy demanded, keeping his place in between Brandon and the gun.

"I believe _I'm_ the one with the gun, Troy." Wolf reminded him. "I think I can talk to him or you anyway I feel like." Troy, knowing that this was true, also shut up.

"Now," Wolf started "Troy, you know that there's a price for telling on me, so why don't you and Brandon come over here and pay it."

"The hell we will." Troy seethed, balling his hands into fists.

Wolf sighed and said "Have it your way." With that, he lowered the gun to the floor.

After about 10 seconds of silence between the three males in the room, Wolf piped up "Do you want to know a little secret of mine boys?"

"Does it have to do with your insanity?" Brandon hissed.

"I distinctfully remember telling you to keep your mouth shut Montez!"

Brandon rolled his eyes and bit his tongue to keep from talking further.

Wolf huffed and continued "Now as I was saying, Troy, do you want to know a little more about my plan?"

Troy replied darkly "Do I really have a choice?"

"Not really."

"Then go on."

"That I shall. Answer a question for me. What would you do if you saw a girl get hurt?"

"Kick the person's ass." Brandon answered.

Wolf's hand with the gun in it snapped up and he threatened "One more word out of you and I'll blow your brains out!"

"One more word of disrespect to him and I'll take you out right now! And don't you dare touch Gabriella!" Troy shouted, walking backwards a little so that he was now less than a foot away from Brandon.

"Oh please Troy." Wolf laughed "We both know that you can't beat me. It's been proven for 5 years."

Troy argued "That's just because I never tried to fight back! I took you as a serious threat, but I'm not gonna do that anymore. You've hurt me and my best friend one too many times. I'm not tolerating that anymore!"

Wolf shrugged and dropped the gun to the ground, surprising both Troy and Brandon.

"Fine. Do you wanna prove that to me?" Wolf offered.

"More than anything."

"Then go ahead. I'm wide open."

Troy didn't move. He knew that he could defeat Wolf if he put his blood, sweat, and tears into it, but what about Brandon? Troy knew that the gun was less than a foot away from his basketball coach and he could shoot Brandon anytime he wanted if Troy was winning. Should he really take that chance?

"Troy, don't do it." Brandon whispered in Troy's ear, making sure that Wolf couldn't hear him.

"What?"

"Don't take the risk. Just find some way to get rid of him."

Troy pondered this for a while. Brandon was always smart when it came to threats and danger, so why shouldn't he listen to him now?

"No." he finally decided, looking at Wolf.

"Troy-"

"Brandon, just shut up and let your boyfriend kick my ass." Wolf rolled his eyes.

"I'm not gay, you idiot." Brandon fought back a little too quickly.

"That's it," Wolf furiously growled "You're dead!"

As he lunged for Brandon, Troy's eyes widened and he took action. Just as Wolf grabbed Brandon's arm, Troy kicked him in the stomach. Wolf groaned and fell to his knees, clutching his abdomen.

Brandon had fallen to his backside, but was quickly pulled to his feet by Troy.

"We need to get out of here!" Troy told him.

Brandon nodded and ran for the door on the other side of the room, but accidentally got too close to Wolf. The coach grabbed Brandon's ankle and pulled him backward.

"Troy!" Brandon cried before hitting the floor. Wolf laughed evilly and dragged him into the corner while Brandon clawed at the tiled floor, trying to escape his grasp.

Suddenly, the pressure on Brandon's ankle was released. Brandon turned around and gasped when he saw Troy and Wolf rolling around on the floor sending punches at each other.

"Get off of me Bolton! Just let me kill him!" Wolf screamed as he threw two punches at Troy's nose and jaw.

"Never!" Troy yelled back, kneeing him in the groin.

"Troy, stop!" Brandon called, running over to him. Wolf found a stray glass oil bottle on the floor and launched it at Brandon's head. Brandon tried to dodge it, but the pointy neck of the bottle scraped against his cheek. He howled in pain and collapsed on the floor, clutching his cheek that was completely cut open.

"Brandon!" Troy screamed. Brandon tried to pick himself off the floor, but Wolf shouted "Don't get up or I'll get my gun!" Brandon stayed put.

"You son of a bitch!" Troy screamed. He got to his feet and stomped on the coach's chest, hearing the howls and yells coming from his throat.

"Get...stomp...off...stomp...of...stomp...me...stomp...Bolton!!" Wolf screamed. He grabbed Troy's foot and pushed him off of his chest into Brandon, who was watching it all happen in awe.

Troy landed on top Brandon with a thump. Brandon groaned and, being the one on the bottom, squeaked "Sorry I didn't help man."

"It's alright," Troy moaned "At least you broke my fall. Are you okay?"

Brandon nodded, but was soon screaming as Wolf pulled him out from under Troy and pressed him against the wall, cutting off his access to oxygen.

"Let him go!" Troy loudly demanded. Wolf tightened his grip on Brandon's bruised and bleeding neck. Troy kicked Wolf's knee and sent him down on the floor, letting go of Brandon's neck.

"Brandon, go get your dad! How can he not hear this?!" Troy commanded.

"This room is soundproof." Brandon answered, seeing Wolf race towards the boys. "Look out!"

But his warning came too late. Troy was now in a tight strangle hold by Wolf, who was bleeding from his nose and temple.

"Too bad you don't have eyes in the back of your head Troy." Wolf hissed in his ear. Troy opened his closed eyes and was surprised to not see Brandon anywhere.

"Hey Wolf!" Brandon's voice came from behind the two men.

Wolf turned around, but was soon on the floor as Brandon threw another glass oil bottle at his face. Wolf let go of Troy's neck and let him fall to the floor, trying to get his breathing back under control.

Brandon rushed over to him and concerned "Troy, are you okay?!"

Troy nodded his blue face and breathed "Y-yeah. I'm f-fine."

Brandon helped his best friend up off the floor and led him over to the door when a gunshot was heard. The two teens froze and spun around.

"I may not be able to see you, but I can sure scare you into not leaving." Wolf grinned, his eyes bleeding from the glass that struck them.

"How did he-"

"The vibrations of our footsteps on the floor." Brandon answered Troy's question before it was even asked. Troy nodded and stood his ground.

5 minutes later, Troy got tired of waiting. He sighed impatiently and said to Brandon "We've gotta leave. Call the police."

"Okay, just stay here so that he won't get...AHHH!!" Brandon suddenly fell to the floor, clutching his arm.

"You should really learn how to whisper Montez." Wolf sarcastically advised, blowing on the gun barrel.

"Brandon!" Troy cried, falling to his knees and checking Brandon's bullet wound. His eyes darkened as he growled "You monster." After seeing Wolf grin, Troy gave him a glare and turned back to Brandon.

Wolf blinked for a few minutes before he got half of his vision back. To Troy and Brandon's misfortune, they didn't know that he could see. Wolf got up and walked around in different directions before walking over to the two boys. He raised the gun in his hand and struck Troy's temple with it. Troy fell to the ground with a scream, but was soon shut up with Wolf's foot.

"Keep quiet or I'll go get your beloved girlfriend."

"Don't go anywhere near my sister!" Brandon screamed, wincing as he felt the bullet in his arm move. He tried his best to ignore it as he ran toward Wolf. Wolf lashed out his fist and sent Brandon to the floor in one swift move. Brandon landed on his arm and screamed.

"Troy..." Brandon whispered, seeing his best friend's eyes drooping.

"Oh, looks like Troy Boy got a little tired. Wanna be next?" Wolf crooned, seeing the horrified look on Brandon's face when Troy's chest stopped rising and falling.

"Troy, wake up! Come on, just open your eyes and breathe!" Brandon cried, getting to his knees, pain surging through his arm. "Troy, come on!"

"Brandon, I'm sorry." Troy muttered, barely being heard. But Brandon, unwillingly, heard him.

"Troy, no! Wake up!" Brandon pleaded, crawling towards him with one arm. Wolf kicked him across the room, hearing something crack. Brandon cried out in pain and clutched his now broken rib.

"Oww!" Wolf mocked. "That's gonna hurt in the morning." He removed his foot from a now unconscious Troy and walked over to Brandon, who had tears streaming down his face. He looked up at the coach and his breath went ragged. This couldn't be happening to him.

"God, just look at you." Wolf shook his head in disgust. "So weak and pathetic." He kicked Brandon in the face and watched him fall back in pain. "Just like your so called 'best friend'. What kind of friend ditches you for 5 years? You have extremely bad taste."

"He didn't have a choice." Brandon choked out, noticing the white tiled floors turn red from his wounded arm. "You forced him to do it."

"I didn't _force_ him into anything. He could've just avoided those beatings by just saying no."

"But then you would've killed me and he couldn't stand if that happened. He cares about me." Brandon seethed through his bloody teeth.

"Oh boo hoo. It doesn't matter anymore. He's almost dead."

"You're lying." Brandon disagreed.

"Have you seen him breathe once?" Brandon looked over and found that Wolf was right. Troy's face was growing paler and whiter by the second.

"No!" Brandon cried, but was pushed back down by Wolf's fist. The coach sighed and said "Now that I have your attention, I'm gonna go get my gun. Wait right here." With that, he got up and started walking towards his gun, which was on the other side of the room.

Brandon took this as his chance. He screamed at the top of his lungs "TROYYY!!"

Wolf turned around for a second and his face grew red with anger as Troy stirred. He ran to his gun and grabbed it.

"Brandon..." Troy yawned, his blurred vision focusing. He tried to get to his feet, but Wolf cracked him on the head again with the gun, sending him to the floor unconscious.

"Troy..." Brandon whimpered, getting to his knees. But Wolf pushed him back down with his foot on his chest and cocked the gun, holding it to Brandon's temple.

"Thanks for ruining my life as well as my daughter's Montez." Wolf seethed, tightening his grip on the trigger. "It's been hell knowing you."

Brandon froze. He could no longer feel the pressure in his arm from getting shot. He was completely numb. This was it. The end of the road of life. He was going to die.

A bright white light shone behind Brandon's closed eyes.

_His mother was screaming in a hospital room. A baby's cry filled the room a few seconds later._

_Brandon now found himself at his day care when he was 2. He was playing with clay when a brown haired, blue eyed toddler trotted over to him and introduced himself._

"_Hi." Brandon squeaked, smiling._

"_Hi. Can I pway with you?" the boy asked._

_Brandon nodded. The two messed with the clay for a few minutes in silence before Brandon spoke up "I'm Bwandon Montez."_

"_Hi Bwandon. I'm Twoy Bolton."_

_His life sped ahead 7 years. His 9 year old self was curled up in his bed with tears streaming down his face, waiting for the screaming to end. His father just came home drunk and started an unnecessary fight with Gina. This was the fifth time that week that Chase had gone out to a bar with his friends and every time he came home, Brandon made sure to be over at Troy's house until late. He just couldn't take the fighting. But tonight was different. Troy was at a basketball game with his father, so Brandon had no where to go without his mother driving him. Gabriella was out with Sharpay and Taylor, so he couldn't go to her for support. He tightened his grip on his pillow as insult after insult was thrown at Gina. The door finally slammed and Chase's car drove down the street. It was over for now, but little did Brandon know that he still 2 more years to _

_2 years later now. Brandon was running from his house over to East Middle for the basketball tryouts. But that wasn't the only reason he was running. His father had come home drunk again and this fight was different. They had gone physical. Chase slapped Gina across the face when his dinner wasn't prepared. That was the final straw for Brandon. He dashed down the stairs and took off down the street. He saw Troy wave to him halfway there, but his smile faded when he saw the state that Brandon was in. A few minutes later, the two were headed over to East Middle, where the end of their friendship for 5 years would take place._

_The most hated scene came into play next. Troy was looking at the floor while Brandon angrily questioned him about why he wasn't on the team but Troy was._

_Next took place just a few minutes after. Brandon was punching Troy in the stomach and the fight continued until Coach Wolf pulled the two apart and threw Brandon to the other side of the locker room. After the mini fight with Chad, Troy seethed "We're through."_

"_Fine. I'm done with you." Brandon replied with just as much fire in his voice._

_The next scene was in court 5 years later. A 16 year old Brandon was holding Gabriella tight as she cried into his chest, him doing the same in her hair. Chase had just gotten custody of Gabriella for a reason that Brandon couldn't understand. All he knew was that his sister was leaving him. There would be no more hugs from her when he and Troy fought at school and no more soothing words besides over the phone. It wasn't the same. The emotion was removed when they talked over the phone. This was a disaster._

_8 months later, Gabriella flew into Brandon's arms. Gabriella couldn't take being away from Brandon anymore and demanded that she move back in with her mother._

_Suddenly, Isabelle's face appeared in Brandon's head. The dance rescue, their first date, their first kiss, and the day she left._

_Now Brandon was running away from East High with blood on his hands. He had just stabbed Troy. He ran to his house, got his things, and drove off to his father's house._

_The doorbell rang. Chase called Gabriella downstairs just as Brandon was about to show her a Three Days Grace video. After Brandon watched it, he knew that Gabriella would love it. He ran downstairs and started announcing it, but froze when his brown eyes connected with Troy's blue ones._

_Brandon and Troy were in the kitchen. Troy was letting the past 5 years of his life spill out of his mouth. Brandon felt like an idiot for believing that his best friend, his brother since they were 2, would ditch him for no logical reason._

_Troy and Brandon were frozen as the gun belonging to Coach Wolf was held to their heads._

_Brandon fell to the floor and held his bleeding arm with a fresh bullet in it._

All of these memories were known as Brandon's 17 year old life, which was about to end. He gulped and cried like he never cried before. Not when Troy ditched him, not when Gabriella left, not when Gabriella started ignoring him, and not even when their parents were fighting. 5 salty tears found their way out of his eyes at the same time, a mixture of pain from the beatings and bullet and emotional feelings. That was a new record for Brandon. But that didn't matter now. He was about to leave this earth and go back home. This was the end.

"Goodbye Brandon." Wolf whispered evilly, tightening his grip on the trigger.

"Brandon, no..." Troy silently sobbed, not being able to get up to save him.

Brandon shut his eyes tightly.

Wolf pulled the trigger.

A gunshot sounded through the kitchen as Brandon's heart stopped, his body numbing.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER!! Srry about that guys. It had to be done. So Wolf beat the shit outta both of them and shot Brandon. What do you think happened? Do you think Brandon's dead? REVIEW and find out! God, I'll have so much fun reading these reviews this chapter...**

**Rachel :)**


	36. Road to Recovery

**Okay, so I personally hate most of this chapter. The beginning's pretty good, but the rest is really a filler. It drags on and on. Oh well. I meant to get this out yesterday, but my computer was being a butthole. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Brandon held his breath as a gunshot sounded through the room. His mind and body went numb. Had he just been shot and killed? Of course. Wolf was the only one in the room with a gun.

But if he was dead, why could he still breathe? He had just been shot in the head, right?

He cracked open one eye to see the dark kitchen atmosphere and Troy sitting there with tears running down his pale face. Troy's expression was a mixture of surprise and shock, with a little relief and happiness passing through it.

Brandon opened his other eye and looked up at Wolf. His eyes were wide and empty. The gun in his hand dropped to Brandon's side. His face paled as his body went tumbling on top of Brandon's. Brandon quickly pushed him off of himself and stood up. His mouth dropped as he viewed the bullet hole in the back of his head.

"Oh my God..." Brandon whispered to no one.

"How did..." Troy continued, sharing emotions with his best friend. Both held their breath. Wolf had been shot dead by someone that wasn't Troy or Brandon. Who had saved them?

A loud sigh filled the room and something dropped on the floor. Brandon and Troy spun around and gasped when they saw Chase and Gabriella standing in the doorway. A gun lay on the floor beside Chase.

"Dad, did you-" Brandon asked breathlessly.

Chase nodded "Yeah. No one hurts my son and gets away with it."

Brandon nodded and limped over to his father, not letting go of his wounded arm. He wrapped his good arm around his father while Chase did the same. "Sorry it took so long. This room may be soundproof, but me and Gabby heard the first gunshot and I went looking for my gun."

Brandon felt his eyes fill with tears. He didn't try to stop them from running down his face. "Thank you dad! Thank you! I thought I was gonna die!"

"Shh. It's okay son. I've got you. He can't hurt you anymore. It's all over." Chase soothed his son, rubbing his back.

While the father/son moment was happening at the door, Gabriella walked over to Troy, who was sitting on the floor staring at Wolf's dead body.

"You okay Troy?" She softly asked him.

Troy just blinked for a few moments, not being able to process what had just happened. "I don't know." He finally answered.

Gabriella sighed and nodded. "How'd he even get in here?"

Troy nodded toward the open basement door, not saying a word. Gabriella just nodded back.

"I can't believe this." Gabriella said, shaking her head.

"Me neither," Troy whispered "It's finally over. No more beatings, no more threats, no more putting on the impression that I hate my best friend. It's over."

Gabriella gently wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and rested her head in his shoulder. Troy closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. It was so good to be alive.

"I love you Troy. I'm so happy that you're okay." Gabriella silently cried.

Troy stroked her hair and replied into her hair "I would never leave you Gabby. I love you too much for that. I'm not going anywhere."

After a few moments, Chase returned to the room. Troy and Gabriella didn't even know that he left.

"Okay," he announced "I just called an ambulance. Just hold on for about 10 minutes boys. You're gonna be fine."

"Thanks dad." Brandon smiled, looking over at Troy. Troy grinned back at his best friend, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

--

...At the Hospital...

"Okay, thanks Shar." Gabriella smiled, hanging up her phone. She turned to her mother and Chase and announced "I just called Taylor, Chad, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, Jason, and Kelsi. They should be here soon."

"What about Brandon's friends?" Gina asked.

"I don't have their numbers. I need Brandon's phone for that." Gabriella replied.

Gina and Chase nodded. Chase had called her as soon as the ambulance got to his house. Gina was calm about it, but secretly frantic. How would you feel if you found out that your son got shot by his gym teacher?

A few minutes later, the gang crashed though the hospital doors, wild looks in their eyes.

"Where is he?!" Chad cried "Where's Troy?!"

"Chad, calm down." Gabriella comforted her friend. "They're fine."

"Who's they?" Taylor asked. Gabriella blushed. She left out the part about Brandon getting hurt too.

"Troy and Brandon." She whispered.

"Troy and WHO?!" the boys yelled, their faces growing red.

"Troy and Brandon." Gabriella repeated "Troy has a concussion and Brandon got shot in the arm."

"By who?" Kelsi asked worriedly. Chad and Sharpay exchanged looks.

"It was Wolf, wasn't it?" the blonde predicted, crossing her arms.

Gabriella nodded "You knew?"

"Yeah, Chad told me the day after it happened." Gabriella glared at Chad, who was looking everywhere but at the brunette.

"Chad..."

"Yeah?" Chad replied innocently.

"Why would you tell the biggest bigmouth ever if Troy specifically told you _not_ to tell _anyone_?" Gabriella growled.

"She kept pestering me about why Troy was acting so strangely. She's really good at that." Chad rolled his eyes.

Gabriella mirrored his actions as she sighed "Whatever. That's not important. At least he's dead."

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted, earning a "Shh!" from the receptionist.

Gabriella nodded "Yeah. He had the gun to Brandon's head and just as he was about to pull the trigger, my dad came in and shot him in the back of the head."

"Go Mr. Montez!" Jason smiled, giving Chase a high five.

Gabriella grinned at the sight. This was how it should be. No fighting, no drama. Just all of them playing together.

"How are they doing?" Zeke asked, draping his arm around Sharpay's shoulders. Sharpay blushed.

"Troy has a concussion and he sprained his ankle." Gabriella answered, smiling at Sharpay. Sharpay just stuck her tongue out at her friend. "Brandon got shot in the arm, broke a rib, and sprained his ankle. He got beat up pretty bad."

"I'll say," Ryan sighed, his eyes saddening. "What happened anyways?"

Gabriella replied "I guess I should start from the beginning."

"Which is when?" Jason asked.

"5 years ago."

"You mean when Brandon and Troy started fighting?" Kelsi cocked her head to the side.

Gabriella nodded. She finally sighed and explained "5 years ago, Brandon dated Samantha Wolf, the coach's daughter. He eventually broke up with her and she thought that she loved him, so she committed suicide."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. The whole school was quiet that day." Ryan thought back.

"Yeah. Anyways, Coach Wolf was so mad, he thought that it was Brandon's fault that Sam died. Seriously, he was furious. If Brandon didn't break up with her, she would still be alive. So he thought up a plan to kill Brandon."

"He WHAT?!" The gang minus Chad and Sharpay, Chase, and Gina screamed. The receptionist sent another "Shh!" their way.

Gabriella nodded and continued "He was stuck until Brandon tried out for the basketball team a week later. He figured that this was the easiest way to get to him, so he immediately planned to make him join the team. But then he figured out that Troy and him were best friends. He thought that it would hurt Brandon more if his best friend left him than to just kill him, so he told Troy to end his friendship with him or they were both dead. Plus, over the course of these 5 years, if Troy did something that made Wolf angry, Wolf would beat him for it."

"That's where all those bruises came from," Jason recalled. "When he changed in gym and ball practice, there would be cuts and bruises all over his back, chest, and arms. I remember Brandon wasn't at school for 3 days, but Troy still got beat up by someone."

Gabriella nodded "That's Wolf."

Chad asked "So what happened at your dad's house? That's the only part me and Sharpay don't know."

Gabriella replied "Troy came to my dad's house and asked to see me. We talked and made up, but then I told him to tell Brandon the truth."

"Did he?" Kelsi asked.

Gabriella nodded "Yeah. They made up, but then Wolf somehow got into the house with a gun and they all started fighting. Me and my dad heard the gunshot and he went looking for the spare gun he has just in case of emergencies. He finally found it and went into the kitchen where the fight was. He saw Wolf holding his gun up to Brandon's head and just as he was about to pull the trigger, my dad shot him in the back of the head. He's dead."

Zeke threw his hands in the air and cheered "YES!! THANK YOU GOD!! I ALWAYS HATED HIM!! HIS TEACHING SUCKED!!"

The receptionist stomped over to the crowd and scolded "One more outburst from this group and I will call security! This is a hospital, no a basketball game! Keep quiet!"

Chad groaned "Please! Nobody mention basketball until I'm out of collage!"

The rest of the guys, minus Ryan, agreed. "I'm quitting the team. I don't think I can handle it anymore after this." Zeke announced, sitting down and pulling Sharpay onto his lap. Again, the blonde blushed.

"Yeah, me too." Jason agreed, slinging an arm around Kelsi. "I always sucked anyways."

"Count me in with being out of the basketball picture." Chad said quickly, leaning his head against the wall. Taylor rested her head on his chest while Chad just smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Wait, wait, wait," Gabriella broke the silence. "What did I miss while I was gone? Are all you guys together now?"

Jason nodded "I asked Kelsi out 2 days after you left."

"Sharpay and I had our 2nd date the day after you left."

Gabriella nodded with a smile. She then turned her head to Chad and Taylor, who had not answered her question yet. Taylor smiled back at her, leaned up, and planted a small kiss on Chad's lips. "Chad asked me to be his girlfriend the night you left."

Gabriella bowed her head in shame. "Sorry for missing so much."

"Don't worry about it," Chad shrugged "You encouraged me to keep asking Taylor out, so you did your part. There's nothing for you to be sorry for." Gabriella just smiled at him.

A few moments later, a doctor stepped out of the hospital room and called "Troy Bolton and Brandon Montez?"

The group popped out of their seats. Chase asked "How are they?"

The doctor smiled "They'll be fine. We've removed the bullet from Brandon's arm, set his rib up for recovery, and fixed a cast on his ankle. As for Troy, we've taken care of his concussion and he dislocated his shoulder. There's a cast on that as well. He had a few gashes and bruises here and there, but they should be fine overall. You're free to see them now."

Sighs of relief filled the room. "Thanks doctor," Gina said. "How many can see them at a time?"

"Well with this large crowd," The doctor calculated "I'll say about 4 at a time. My suggestion is the parents and then the friends can decide the order."

"Thank you." Chase nodded with a smile. With that, the doctor walked off to his next patients.

"Where are Troy's parents?" Kelsi surveyed, noting the fact that they were absent.

"I couldn't get a hold of them," Gabriella shrugged. "I tried calling 5 times, but I only got their answering machines."

As if on cue, Jack and Lucy burst through the doors, running over to the group. "Where's Troy?!" Lucy loudly asked.

"In that room," Gabriella answered. "How'd you know he was here? I couldn't get a hold of you."

"The hospital called," Jack replied. "When did you call?"

"About 10 minutes ago."

"We left the house 20 minutes ago." Lucy informed. "We didn't get your call."

"Oh," Gabriella nodded. Her eyes widened as she asked "Did they say that Troy was the only one here?"

"No," Jack said. "They mentioned someone else being here with him, but they didn't specify who. Do you know who?"

"Y-yeah." Gabriella stuttered "It's Brandon."

"Oh God," Jack groaned. "Please don't tell me those two got in another fight."

"They got in a fight," Zeke piped up. "But it wasn't with each other."

"Well then with who?" Jack asked, getting impatient.

"Wolf." Zeke replied, rubbing his neck nervously.

"Ben Wolf? The head coach?" Jack gasped. Zeke nodded.

"But why?"

"You mean you don't know yet?" Gina asked.

"Know what?" Jack asked her.

"Me and Troy will explain later honey," Lucy told her husband.

"You know and I don't?"

"Troy couldn't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Like I said before, we'll explain later. Right now, we need to go see him." Lucy replied. Jack didn't reply. He just walked into Troy and Brandon's room with Lucy by his side. Chase and Gina followed them.

--

...10 Minutes Later...

"So you've been getting beaten by Wolf just to protect Brandon?!" Jack asked Troy in disbelief. Troy had just explained to him what had happened over the last 5 years.

Troy nodded "Yeah. That's why I was always fighting him. He couldn't be happy, so I had to take away everything he had."

"Is that the only reason you asked out Gabriella?"

"No!" Troy replied sharply. "Gabriella was my own idea. I would never use a girl like that, especially her. I love her."

"Sorry. I can't believe Wolf. He was just so friendly until Samantha died. I expected him to be depressed, but I never expected this. I feel so stupid for not noticing this sooner." Jack complained.

"Dad, don't feel bad." Troy comforted his father. "We just had to hide it from you until I built up the courage to tell you and Brandon. It's not your fault."

"I know, but I still think I could've helped." Jack sighed.

He turned to Brandon. He was unwillingly receiving kisses from his mother while his father just laughed at the disgusted look on his face.

He turned back around to Troy and said "So you two are friends again?"

"Yup," Troy replied, grinning. "I feel so much better now. No more tension between us."

"That's good to hear. Okay, how about the adults leave and give you some time with your friends?"

Troy smiled thankfully "Thanks dad. Can you send in Chad, Zeke, Sharpay, and Gabby?"

"Sure son." Jack replied. After kissing Troy's forehead, he walked out of the room with Lucy, Gina, and Chase in tow. In a few moments, Chad, Gabriella, Sharpay, and Zeke stepped into the room with relieved smiles on their faces.

"Hey Troy," Sharpay greeted with a smile "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better, but thanks for asking," Troy grinned back.

"So how long are you planning to be here?" Chad asked.

"Dude, I just got here."

"I know, but East High's gonna be asking questions. I wanna know how to answer them." Chad replied.

Troy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Just tell them my wounds, tell them that me and Gabby are together again, and tell them that me and Brandon are brothers again."

Brandon said "What about me getting shot? I think they'd be interested in that."

"That too."

"Okay," Chad teasingly said, writing everything down on a piece of spare paper from Sharpay's purse. "Do you want fries with that?"

Troy gave Gabriella a look. Gabriella nodded and whacked Chad with her purse.

"Oww! What was that for?" Chad whined, rubbing his sore arm.

"For making fun of the situation, you idiot!" Gabriella scolded.

"Whatever." Chad rolled his eyes. He turned to Brandon and sheepishly said "Look. Brandon, about all those times that me and the guys...you know...kinda...beat the crap outta you...I just wanna apologize for that."

Brandon rolled his eyes with a smile and replied "Don't worry Chad. We're good."

"Really?" Chad beamed "So you're not gonna, like, get your boys on us or anything, right?"

Brandon shook his head. "They won't if I tell them the truth. Which I'm gonna do right now. Can I use somebody's phone?"

Sharpay tossed her sidekick to him. He gave her a thumbs up as a thank you.

"So we're all good? No more fighting between anyone?" Zeke asked, already knowing the answer.

Troy nodded. He gave Brandon a smile and replied "Yeah, we're good."

Brandon smiled back at his best friend, knowing that it was a true, genuine smile. He hadn't given Troy one of those in 5 years. It felt so good not having to hold anything back anymore. He loved every second of it.

--

...That Night...

Troy lie awake at 11:30 that night, staring at the ceiling. He had an idea.

"Brandon." He loudly whispered to his roommate. No reply.

"Hey Brandon. You awake?" Troy again whispered. Still nothing. Brandon was out cold.

Troy nodded to himself and pulled out his cell phone. He had hoped that Brandon was asleep.

He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. After it rang twice, a very tired and groggy "Hello?" was heard.

"Hey," Troy whispered, trying to not wake his best friend.

"Troy, what the hell are you doing calling me at 12:30 at night?"

"What? It's only 11:30." Troy said, confused.

"Time change, you idiot."

"Oh right. Listen, I need you to do something for me." Troy informed, taking a peek at Brandon, who was still asleep.

"If you think I'm getting off my ass and leaving my warm bed, then I swear to God Troy..." the person growled.

"I don't need you to get up right now," Troy interrupted "Can you come down next month?"

"Why?"

"One word: Brandon." Troy grinned.

"Wait, are you two friends again? You finally told him the truth?"

"Yup."

"Thank God! How'd it happen?"

"I'll tell you, but only if you promise to come down next month."

"I'll ask my mom and see if I can. I won't make any promises because it's gonna be rainy all month and she doesn't want me driving much."

"Okay. Just try to convince her. Oh, and can you bring your sister too?" Troy asked.

"Sure. I bet she'll be ecstatic to see the gang again, especially Matt." The person giggled.

"Yeah I bet he'll be happy too. Anyways, I gotta go. See you next month."

"Okay. Bye Troy."

"Bye cuz." Troy ended their conversation and flipped over on his side, closing his eyes. Tiredness took over him as he fell asleep, predicting the look in Brandon's eyes when he saw this person next month.

* * *

**Didn't I tell you that it drags? Don't worry, it picks up. Who do you think Troy was talking to? There's only like 2 or 3 more chapters left, so we're almost done. Then it off to the sequal!**

**Yeah, and about the sequal. If you've read my story Cheated, I'm making a sequal for that too called Forgotten Secret. I'm gonna focus on FS, Protected by Heart, and The Cool Lie. After I'm done with at least 2 of those, I'll do this one. Don't worry, I'll write a trailer and a first chapter to give a little relief here. I may need a _little_ bit of help with it, but at least it's something, right?**

**Okay, REVIEW!!**

**Rachel :)**


	37. Brothers for Life

**LAST DAY OF SCHOOL BITCHES!!**

**I'M AN 8TH GRADER NOW!!**

**lol. Anyways, I just wanted to wait until my last day of schoolio to UP. Sorry. I finished this like a week ago...**

**Okay guys. It's the chapter I've been scared of since this story became my favorite...**

**IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER!!**

**I just wanna thank you all for your amazing reviews and support! We got over 1,000 reviews which is a great accomplishment! I never thought I'd even get into the 900's but you guys stayed with this and made it awesome! And yes, this is a happy chapter. Except I answer a question that a few of you have asked, so it's kinda sad but the rest is happy and fluffy! Yay! Lol! Thanks again! :)**

**AND CALLING ALL JONAS BROTHERS FANS!!**

**There is one act of irony in this first paragraph. I suggest you look over the titles of the JB's songs and tell me in your review how this is ironic (It's my fave song off their second album) :)**

* * *

...One Month Later...

Lucy stood in the kitchen, stirring the soup. It was now one month since Troy and Brandon had become friends again and to be honest, everything was exactly the same as it was before they had split. They were, as expected, inseparable.

The two had been out of the hospital for a week now. Their parents wanted them to rest a little more before re-attending East High. Brandon hadn't been in the school for over 2 months now. He found out that would have to attend summer school to make up for all the missed assignments. Reluctantly, he had accepted the consequences of his actions.

Chad didn't tell anyone about Troy and Brandon becoming friends again. He figured that it would be a good surprise for everyone on Monday. He did, however, tell them about their wounds. Everyone took it the wrong way and thought that they fought each other. Gabriella snitched on Chad and Troy planned to kill him when he saw him again.

The door closed. Lucy smiled when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey honey," she greeted her husband.

"Hey. Something smells good." Jack replied, giving his wife a peck on the cheek.

"Yup. Chicken noodle soup and fried chicken for dinner, Troy and Brandon's favorite."

"Sounds good," Jack smiled, removing his shoes. As he headed for the fridge for something to drink, something crossed his mind.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell the police that Wolf was abusing Troy and targeting Brandon?"

Lucy froze. She sighed and wiped her hands on a spare towel. She turned to her husband and confessed "I found out about it a week after it started. Troy came home with bruises and cuts all over his body. His shirt got ripped off and his pants were nearly destroyed. He was bleeding everywhere and crying his eyes out. I knew that Brandon couldn't have done it even if he wanted to. I asked him about it and I could tell that he was lying to me when he said that he fell down a hill. I pestered him about it and he finally told me everything. I went for the phone to call the police, but he stopped me and told me not to. I thought that he lost his mind but then he said 'Trust me when I say this mom. Wolf's been in jail before and he knows how to get out. He'll come looking for both of our families and kill all of us. You need to let me do this on my own. I know what I'm doing. If things get too out of control, I'll tell you and you can call the police, but right now, you can't. Please Mom. All I'm asking for is for you to trust me.' He was literally on his knees begging me not to tell anyone. It took the whole weekend for me to decide on something, but I finally decided to trust him. Troy's a smart boy, so I knew he would be okay. But there wasn't a day that went by where I regretted not calling the police on Wolf. I feel so guilty for letting Troy get hurt by him, but I figured that it was for the best. You just had to have seen the look in his eyes when he pleaded for me to keep my mouth shut about it. I couldn't say no. Not to him."

Jack stood there in awe. He was a tad bit angry at his wife for letting his son get hurt, but most of his feelings were feelings of admiration. It took real heart to do something like that.

He walked up to her and kissed her softly on the lips, murmuring "Good choice. Now the boys know how powerful their friendship is."

Lucy smiled at Jack and hugged him tightly. When they parted, she looked around and asked "Speaking of the boys, where's Troy? He should've been home by now."

Jack shrugged and walked over to the window where he left his gym bag. Just as he was about to go up the stairs, he caught sight of something outside and grinned "Here he comes."

A few seconds later, he added "Oh. He's not alone."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, washing some of the dishes.

Exactly one second after those words left her mouth, the door burst open. Troy and Brandon came parading in the house, eyes closed and their bodies close together. Troy's iPod was hooked up to their ears and they had one arm around each other's shoulder. They both danced and sang together:

"**I can feel you all around me  
****Thickening the air I'm breathing  
****Holding onto what I'm feeling  
****Savoring this heart that's healing**

**Take my hand, I give it to you  
****Now you own me, all I am  
****You said you would never leave me  
****I believe you, I believe**

**I can feel you all around me  
****Thickening the air I'm breathing  
****Holding onto what I'm feeling  
****Savoring this heart that's healed."**

After, they both froze and struck a pose. After they couldn't take it anymore, they collapsed on the floor in a heap of laughter.

"That's officially my song!" Brandon laughed, wiping away the tears from his eyes.

"You can have it. It was already mine a few months ago." Troy replied, helping his best friend off the floor.

Lucy laughed at the sight of the two boys and asked "Hey boys."

Troy and Brandon pulled up a stool and sat at the counter, eagerly waiting for something to fill their hunger. "Hey mom." Troy greeted.

"Hey Mrs. Bolton." Brandon politely smiled.

Lucy groaned "Brandon, you've known me for 15 years! How many times do I have to say 'Just call me Lucy'?"

Brandon blushed "Sorry Lucy."

Lucy nodded approvingly. She turned back to the stove and asked "How was your day?"

"Awesome!" Troy pumped his fist in the air. Brandon rolled his eyes playfully at him and said "We went to that new amusement park that just opened. Their rides are sick! One roller coaster goes up 150 feet, stops, and then you just drop down. I felt my popcorn in my throat."

"We went on it five times." Troy added.

"Sounds like fun." Lucy smiled, giving each of them a large spoon with chocolate cake mix on them.

"I thought something smelled good." Troy grinned.

"Well you guessed right," Lucy giggled, placing the cake batter in the oven. "I'm in a happy mood."

"Obviously." Brandon murmured. Lucy playfully shoved his shoulder.

"So mom, is she here yet?" Troy smiled, setting down his now clean spoon.

"Yeah, she just got here about 5 minutes ago." Lucy replied with a devious grin.

"Is she well hidden?" Troy whispered. Lucy nodded.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Brandon asked, finishing off his spoon.

Troy smiled and gave his mother a look, as if saying "Should I tell him?" Lucy nodded and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Am I missing something here?" Brandon asked, getting confused.

"You have no idea..." Jack mumbled in his ear before running off upstairs to avoid his wife's angry fists.

Troy got up from his stool and announced "Brandon, we have a little surprise for you."

Brandon laughed shortly and said "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think I can deal with anymore surprises from you guys."

Troy and Lucy just smirked and exchanged sly gazes.

Brandon shrugged at their behavior and started off towards the bathroom when a familiar voice called "Even if it's an old friend?"

Brandon froze, his eyes widening. Slow footsteps clicked into the room, sounding like high heels. A giggle escaped someone's lips as Brandon turned around slowly, his eyes widening to their full extent when he looked into the blue eyes that he hadn't seen in months.

"Izzy..." he whispered to the blonde.

Isabelle grinned "Hey Brandon."

Not a second later, Brandon dashed from his spot in front of the bathroom door and took Isabelle into his arms. While she wrapped her arms around his neck, he picked her up off the ground and spun her around like a 2 year old, burying his head in her shoulder. She shrieked and laughed in his ear, obviously happy to see him too.

"You said you weren't visiting until Christmas..." Brandon murmured into her shoulder.

"Troy called me last month and asked me to come down here to surprise you. It took lots of convincing, but my mom let us come down early." Isabelle replied.

Brandon pulled back slightly to look into her eyes and ask "Who's 'us'?"

A very angry 12 year old stomped out from the spot Isabelle had just come out of. The blonde spat "You forgot about me already?!"

Brandon rolled his eyes and smiled "Well, I've never even met you before, so can you really blame me?"

Sarah too rolled her eyes and ran over to Troy. Troy took his little cousin in his arms and hugged her close, saying "Hey Blondie."

"What's up Troysie?" Sarah giggled back.

Troy kissed her forehead and said "I have a surprise for you..."

Sarah's eyes lit up as she excitedly said "Ooh! I love surprises!"

"Yeah, me too." A voice came from the doorway. Sarah looked over Troy's shoulder and gasped as Matt and Andrea stood in the doorway, smiling at her. Sarah jumped down from Troy's arms and ran over to her two best friends.

"Guys! What are you doing here? How'd you know I was coming back?" She asked, giving Andrea a hug.

"Troy can't seem to keep his mouth shut, can he?" Andrea replied with a smirk.

Sarah smiled and turned to Matt. He had a soft look in his eyes and stood with his hands in his pockets. He brought them out and outstretched his arms, saying "Good to see you again Sarah."

Sarah gave him a tight, bone crushing hug and muttered into his chest "It was like forever, wasn't it?"

Matt kissed the top of her head and replied "You have no idea."

Sarah looked up into his eyes and leaned forward with him doing the same. It only took seconds for their lips to connect in a sweet kiss.

"You're only 12!" Troy playfully bellowed from behind them. "What are you doing making out?!"

Sarah parted from Matt for a second to spit back at her cousin "I clearly remember a morning where you and Gabriella were getting nasty in your bedroom. Remember? I broke you two up before it went any further."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Brandon and Lucy glared at Troy. Troy just gave Sarah a dirty look and mouthed "You better run."

"Whatever, I don't care. As long as you don't get her pregnant or hurt her in any way, shape, or form, I'm fine with getting a little nasty." Brandon told his best friend.

"You mean like us?" Isabelle seductively whispered in his ear, sending chills down Brandon's spine.

"When have we ever been nasty?" Brandon grinned.

Isabelle kissed his neck and whispered "We haven't yet, but I'm all for creating new...memories." A shock of electricity flew through Brandon's body.

"You're evil." Brandon whispered, trying to hold himself back but was failing miserably.

"You said you hated good girls, right?" she finalized, knowing that she now had full control over him.

"Oh God." Brandon gave up through clenched teeth. He spun around so that Isabelle's back was now against the wall and he crashed his lips onto hers. Her arms were already around his neck, but that didn't stop her from pulling him closer to her. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, which she used to her advantage. Her knees would have given out on her if she was standing on her feet.

Troy groaned "I thought you two broke up."

Brandon replied into Isabelle's lips "That doesn't mean a thing to me."

"I don't remember breaking up." She pulled back from Brandon and winked at him.

Brandon smiled lovingly "Yeah, me neither."

"Are you saying what I think you are?" Lucy piped up.

Isabelle nodded "Count us as back together."

Brandon nodded slowly "I don't have a problem with that. I can handle a long distance relationship. It's almost summer time anyways."

Isabelle smiled and pulled him into another kiss, murmuring "I love you enough to keep this together."

"I love you too."

--

...Monday...

Monday. 2 weeks before the end of school. The day that Brandon had been afraid of for a week. It was the day he would have to go back to East High.

"No!" he yelled from inside Troy's car. "I'm not going and you can't make me!"

Troy groaned and turned to Gabriella. Gabriella smirked and whispered something in Troy's ear. Troy smiled and nodded.

He went over to Brandon's door and called "Okay, have it your way. But just to let you know, Isabelle went back to California and I could just, you know, tell her you met someone else and-"

That did it. Brandon dashed out of the car with all his stuff and stood beside his sister. Troy closed his eyes, grinned, and shook his head slowly. Brandon was so desperate to keep his relationship with Isabelle.

"Okay, can we please go now?" Gabriella giggled after seeing Brandon's face pale when he saw everyone staring at him, some giving him dirty looks. "We're gonna be late for class."

"Yeah, we're going. Come on." Troy took Brandon's shoulder and Gabriella grabbed his arm to make sure that he didn't run off when they got to the doors. Brandon gulped and dragged his feet. He hoped that everyone forgave him like his friends did.

Just walking up to the doors seemed like running four miles around the school. The whole way, people on 'Brandon's side' were giving the trio strange looks, trying to figure out why Troy and Brandon were within a foot of each other and not fighting. The others on 'Troy's side' were glaring at Brandon. They just thought that Troy was luring him into a trap or something.

When they entered the school, the halls went silent. Troy ignored it and just started talking with Brandon, who was talking back. Troy's elbow was propped against Brandon's shoulder, which confused the students the most. It was like middle school all over again.

"Hey guys," Troy greeted his pack of friends gathered around his locker. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Chad replied shrugging "Everyone's surprised to see you two together again."

Troy's eyes darkened "Yeah, remind me to kill you for not telling them that earlier."

"Sorry. I thought it would be a good surprise." Chad mumbled.

"And how'd that work out for you?" Brandon asked sarcastically.

"Shut up."

"Guys," Sharpay interrupted "We could go on for days about this, but we need to get to homeroom before Darbus bites our heads off."

The gang nodded and walked to homeroom side by side, getting glares and stares the whole time. When they arrived to homeroom, the room went silent. They didn't seem to care. They just chatted and laughed with their best friends, accepting Brandon into the group. No one understood it.

"Remember the time in 5th grade when we got ice cream spilled all over us because the girls got pissed off at us at Brandon's party?" Chad laughed.

Brandon nodded "I remember that. Then we threw chocolate cake at them and ruined their clothes. Man, that was awesome!"

"Didn't that start a food fight?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah. My mom was laughing so hard at us." Gabriella thought back.

"We had to clean it all up though," Brandon shrugged.

"And I helped." Troy proudly said.

"Yup. That's what best friends are for, aren't they?"

"Right on bro." With that, the two did their secret handshake.

Whispers formed around the room, everyone trying to figure out what happened between the two over the last month. Chad told them that they were in the hospital for serious wounds. They thought that they gave them to each other.

Seconds later, Ms. Darbus walked into the room and announced "Good morning students! I'd like to make an announcement. Are Troy and Brandon present?"

Troy and Brandon raised their hands.

"Good," Ms. Darbus continued "We're all happy to have you back. May I ask what happened?"

Brandon shrugged "Let's just say that a few wires were crossed and some misunderstandings were resolved." Troy laughed shortly and have him a high five.

Ms. Darbus's eyebrows flew up at the boys' behavior. She shook her head quickly and stuttered "O-okay. Are you two alright?"

Troy nodded "Yeah, why wouldn't we be?"

Ms. Darbus remained silent for a few moments before shaking her head and replying "No reason. Glad to see you again."

Troy and Brandon exchanged amused smiles. They knew that they had lots of explaining to do later.

--

...Lunch...

Troy and Brandon sat at Troy's table at lunchtime, chatting it up with their friends. The school had still not gotten used to the new situation, but they were trying.

Troy gave Brandon a look that said "Should we do it now?" Brandon nodded. Troy nodded back and stood up, Brandon following his actions. Brandon put two fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly, getting the students' attention.

"Thank you Brandon," Troy told his best friend. He then announced "Okay guys. You've probably noticed something different going on with me and Brandon."

Everyone nodded.

Brandon continued "Well we're just here today to tell you that we made up a month ago."

As soon as he said that, the entire student body erupted into loud applause. Troy and Brandon smiled at them and at each other.

"So you two aren't fighting anymore?" Amy piped up from the middle of the room.

Brandon shook his head "Nope. We're brothers for life again."

Troy nodded "Anyone who has a problem with it can the fattest part of our asses."

Everyone in the room laughed, including Brandon. Troy just stood there looking out at his classmates. He felt good for them. Now they didn't have to worry about accidentally getting hit with any fists or flying objects. They were safe now.

"Party at my place on Friday?!" Sharpay screamed excitedly. Everyone screamed with her, obviously saying yes.

Troy and Brandon turned around and mouthed "Thanks." Sharpay replied "No problem. You guys deserve it."

Brandon shook his head "No. Troy does. He's the one who saved me anyway."

Troy smiled "Thanks bro."

"No problem bro."

--

...The Party...

It was finally 8:00 on Friday night. The night of Sharpay and Ryan's party for Troy and Brandon. Everyone was invited obviously. Isabelle told her that she would catch a flight, not wanting to miss anything. Her mom had been reluctant of letting her leave again, but she finally caved in and let her go see Brandon again.

The party was in full swing. Everyone was dancing and laughing, just trying to celebrate Troy and Brandon's make up. Couples were dancing, friends were chatting, and Chad was the DJ, taking requests by people.

Troy was dancing with Brandon, Gabriella, and Isabelle to the song Closer by Ne-Yo. Gabriella was all over Troy while Isabelle was the same way with Brandon. Troy and Brandon gave each other pleasured looks, eyeing the girls with them.

"So," Brandon started "You having fun Izzy?"

Isabelle replied with a kiss on his lips. "Yup. Especially since you're here."

Brandon smiled and swept her up bridal style and carried her over to the wall. He pressed her back against it and pulled her into a rough kiss.

"I've missed that." He mumbled.

"It's only been a week." The blonde giggled.

Brandon attacked her lips again "I know. That's how much I love you."

5 minutes later, Troy walked over to the couple and broke up their make out session. "Excuse me!" He bellowed "Romeo and Juliet!"

Brandon pulled back and glared at Troy, his eyes screaming "WHAT?!"

Troy waved for Brandon to follow him. Brandon gave his girlfriend one last peck on the lips before following Troy out the door.

They just stood there in a comfortable silence, staring at the dark Albuquerque sky and watching the stars twinkling in the sky.

"Dude?" Troy started.

"Hmm?"

"Do you regret the last 5 years of our lives?"

Brandon stayed silent. He had that distant look in his eyes that showed that he was thinking hard.

"No," he finally confessed "Not at all. It really showed how strong our friendship is, didn't it?"

Troy nodded with a grin "Yeah. It showed that we never really hated each other."

Brandon smiled at him. "You know what?"

"What?"

"After all these years, you've kept your promise to me."

"What promise?" Troy asked, utterly confused.

Brandon reminded him "Remember when we were 11? We were at the park and we promised each other that we would stick by each other's side no matter what."

Troy smiled "Yeah, I remember. I asked you why you gave me a second chance unlike everyone else. Now I really know why."

Brandon nodded "I just feel bad because I didn't keep that promise to you."

Troy shook his head "Yes you did. You kept fighting for the things you wanted the most. I was just forced to fight harder and steal them from you. Sorry about that."

Brandon shrugged "Don't worry about it. You were just protecting me. That's what brothers do, right?"

Troy smiled and nodded "Yeah. Brothers forever?" He held out his fist, asking Brandon to do the same.

Brandon smiled back and pounded Troy's fist. This was one of his dreams that he had had 2 years ago. He and Troy reunited, standing under the moonlight with no problems between them. He never thought that dreams came true until now. Troy made him believe in miracles again.

"Brothers for life."

* * *

**(Sniff sniff) This has got to be one of the saddest days of my life. I'm sad that this story has ended, but I'm super glad to see that you all enjoyed it so much. Thanks again. And if you haven't already, put me on author alert until you get an email about a story called either Burning Ashes, Burning Memories, Haunting Memories, or Haunting Ashes. I'll put up a poll as a chapter in a few minutes that will let you decide for us (Me and shortytori322821 are writing the sequel together :) Gotta love her) Thanks again :) REVIEW!!**

**Rachel :)**

**The song is part of "All Around Me" by Flyleaf :) **

**Bye guys! See you at the sequel :)**


	38. Sequel Info AN

VIP (Very Important Poll)

**VIP (Very Important Poll)**

**PART ONE**

**Okay guys, GFN has ended which only means one thing. Yup, the sequel's on it's way! Me and shortytori322821 have written the first chapter and we just wanna know what you want the sequel to be called.**

**Summary: Sequel to God's First Nightmare. With Troy and Brandon back as friends, everything remains problem free. But will that change when the two start receiving threats and calls from their past? TROYELLA!**

**What do you want the title to be?**

**Burning Ashes**

**Haunting Memories**

**Burning Memories**

**Haunting Ashes**

**PART TWO**

**I'm having a slight problem with creativity at the moment, so I'm gonna be desperate and ask for someone to write a trailer for the sequel. When you get one, PM it to me with scenes in it if you want. That can just be an extra. Sorry guys, this isn't a contest. You want a prize? How about the warm, fuzzy feeling of helping out a desperate author work for you? Lol! Seriously guys, the sooner I get a trailer ready, the sooner you get the first chapter. And by the way, it's an extremely good chapter. Romance, drama, humor, suspense, cliffhanger at the end...all the good stuff lol.**

**Review with your ideas and your answer to the poll in part one. Thnx :)**

**Rachel :)**


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